Point of View
by Fizzlemcschnizzle
Summary: With the tyrannical Drago and his Bewilderbeast defeated, Hiccup has enjoyed his first year as the chief of a tribe at peace with its dragons and its neighbors. However, something strange happens and Hiccup feels… different. Astrid is displeased.
1. A New Life

**A New Life**

A little Butterfly was perched on the peak of a roof, splayed out and basking in the warmth of the sun, looking out at the horizon over the cliff and out at sea. It was common knowledge that she was deep in thought about absolutely nothing at all, her way of coping with a dark and bitter world without becoming dark and bitter herself. However, she did not dwell on that because that was not nothing, and anything that was something other than nothing would ruin the peacefulness of nothingness.

A gentle breeze drifted over the land, fluttering the blades of grass on the ground. A few sheep contentedly grazed nearby. Past the cliffs, out over the sea, a large dragon tucked in his wings and seemed to float motionless for a moment before dropping like a rock to catch some fish. All of this, though seen and acknowledged by the little Butterfly, did not disturb her peaceful state of thinking of nothing at all.

A cat-sized dragon scuttled up onto the same roof, who was named Nose because of his favorite chew toy - but he gnawed on the noses of only those who deserved it. He sprawled out on the roof, watching the little Butterfly, clacking his claws and being thoroughly ignored. He knew she was enjoying the peace of nothingness, but that was boring.

The dragon coiled his haunches and took a moment to wiggle his tail in anticipation before leaping to pounce on the little Butterfly. He curled up and squirmed in her lap under her tickling assault, then stretched out and purred when it devolved into a belly rub.

_Well, maybe she's not quite so little anymore,_ the dragon thought to himself. However, there was no doubt she was still a Butterfly.

Well, technically, she was not a butterfly, but a land-strider, which meant that she was fleshy, scaleless, hairy, tall, lanky, flammable, and relatively harmless without any of those shiny iron claws and fangs they liked to carry around. Dragons looked on the mind more than the body, however, and Butterfly's natural giddiness and cheerfulness was positively alluring to all. She had endured great losses in her short life, forced to flit around from perch to perch, but her mind was light, nimble, and especially elusive.

"HRAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

The shrill roar from below drew the attention of both dragon and land-strider. Now that Nose had his fill of belly rubs for the moment, he nudged Butterfly and tapped the roof with a claw. She understood immediately. There was a land-strider down there in great pain, and Butterfly's help was needed.

The pain was not indicative of any injury, though. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the poor thing at all except for the unfortunate fact that she was a land-strider.

Butterfly puffed out a sigh and rose to her bare feet. She bent down to give Nose a gentle pat on the head, but he let out a startled yelp when she poked his nose and dragged one of her blunt claws across the sensitive membrane, causing it to tingle. He shot up to all fours and dug his claws in to leap at her, but she was already swinging down to the ground below with only her giggle on the breeze to indicate she was still nearby.

_Flee and flutter, Butterfly,_ he thought to himself. _Your nose is mine!_

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* * *

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"Push! C'mon, Astrid, you got this!"

"HNNNNNGH!"

Astrid grit her teeth and focused on taking deep, controlled breaths as another contraction attempted to split her body in twain. _I am a warrior!_ She told herself. _I am a conqueror! I will not be defeated by this… _thing_!_

Her mother-in-law, Valka, squeezed her hand reassuringly. "You're doing great, Astrid."

Astrid gave Valka a grateful smile and hummed in thanks as Gothi, the village elder, healer, and soothsayer, dabbed a cold cloth on her sweaty forehead. The elder handed off the cloth to someone else, and judging by the tone of the cheerful humming, Tofa had been found and sent to help. She was a rescue who had lived with Astrid and her family for a few years. Then, when she turned twelve, she started working for Gothi as her apprentice.

Astrid's eyes drifted down to the source of an encouraging warble, a Terrible Terror named Nose. He used to be one of the subjects in the village's "dragon training" classes before the dragon war ended. A lot has changed since then, most notably that dragons went from raiding the village to peacefully coexisting. With the fall of the massive dragon queen that had forced the dragons to raid, Nose had moved in with Gothi and helped her in various ways, such as how he was purring mightily while pressed against Astrid to provide comfort and a lot more relief from the pain than she would have ever considered possible.

The dragon suddenly stilled and looked at something above Astrid's head. She followed the stare to see Tofa wink at the dragon and touch a finger to her nose. The dragon fanned his wings and snapped his teeth.

Astrid rolled her eyes at the antics and groaned at the withdrawal of the purring comfort. "Excuse me, kids, am I interrupting something?" she said. Tofa let out an apologetic squeak and the little dragon settled back down to resume his purring.

"Thanks, Nose, that really does help a _lot_," Astrid said as she idly stroked the dragon's head, and the purring intensified. The spoken words were lost on him, of course, but he picked up on the intent of her expression of gratitude. The dragon flicked a glance at his mate in a corner, who was perched on a pile of eggs, then gave a significant look at Astrid and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, rub it in," Astrid groaned. For dragons, reproduction involved a period of hunger as the eggs developed inside, a moment of mild discomfort as they came out, and a year of feeding some hungry mouths until they could feed themselves. She looked over at the brooding dragon with no small amount of envy. "Hey, wanna trade places?" A snort and flutter of a wing was the only response.

"All this will just be a memory soon," Valka gently said. "A pleasant memory, trust me."

Astrid snorted at that. "Yeah, pleasant, sure." She gasped as another contraction hit her. "HRAAAAAAAAAGH! Get this _thing_ out of me _now_ or I'll-" she proceeded to spew out a series of gratuitous and colorful threats studded with crass expletives.

"Astrid!" Valka tsked. "There's a child in the room."

"I'm thirteen!" Tofa declared with her arms crossed. Another Terrible Terror flew in through an open window, landed on her shoulder, and chittered quietly. "Yeah, Shrill, you tell them," she told the dragon.

Astrid groaned at another contraction, thankfully a little lighter this time. "Tell me again why I didn't remain a shield-maiden my whole life."

"Having a child hurts, and raising one is a chore, but it's worth it," Valka said with another reassuring squeeze of her hand.

"Even with all the messes?"

"Yes."

"And the crying?"

"Without a doubt!"

Astrid grinned mischievously. "I dunno. Maybe I'll bribe your dragon with some fish if he'll pluck me up and fly me off to-"

"Astrid!" Valka chided, but she couldn't keep the smile off her face. They both laughed at that until they were sore, which wasn't long for Astrid.

"I just wish…" Astrid started to say, but she didn't finish her sentence because she'd already said it a hundred times since arriving at Gothi's hut.

"I know," Valka said consolingly.

Astrid closed her eyes and sighed out another deep breath. Hiccup wasn't present, and nobody knew where he could be… or if he was even alive.

About a week ago, he had flown out on his dragon for a quick bit of diplomacy with the Meathead tribe on a nearby island, something about a cave that was found to be rich in veins of iron and copper. The only problem was that it was haunted by evil spirits; at least, that was what everyone said. Having local access to such resources without depending on trade would greatly benefit both tribes, but everybody was afraid to delve into the depths of a haunted cave.

It was silly, really. Haunted caves, what a joke! When he mounted up, Hiccup rolled his eyes and said to his dragon, "C'mon, Toothless, let's go check for monsters under the bed," but their allied tribe's chieftain did make a good point that Toothless was uniquely qualified to investigate. The dragon's head was crowned with sensor lobes, each an incredibly sensitive web of corded nerves encased in scaly hide. Dragons were telepathically sensitive already, but Toothless took that to a whole new league, perceiving the "hum" of thoughts that any living creature passively projected at all times. How such a feat was possible could not be explained by anyone, but the many proofs could not be denied. Even through solid stone, from hundreds of feet away, he could "see" where a creature was and know if it was a human, dragon, bear, or something else. Then, any dangerous lurkers could be identified, located, and flushed out with the safety of knowledge so that the cave could be declared safe and the delvers could get to work.

It would be a quick out-and-back, gone after dagmal and back before nattmal. The next day, Astrid was feeling very pensive, and she wasn't alone. The morning after that, a search party was sent out to find him.

Astrid longed to be out there to track down her husband, but with her child due to pop out at any time, she had to remain behind and let the other Hooligan riders fly out to find him. They questioned the Meatheads, explored around, and came back empty-handed. There were some hints that the missing duo went inside that cave, but the trail turned cold. However, the search party hadn't included any tracking dragons, so they set out again yesterday with Astrid's Deadly Nadder. Stormfly had become quite the mother hen as the child grew in her rider's belly, but they needed a good tracker who was very familiar with Hiccup's and Toothless' scents and Stormfly was the best.

Valka gave a gentle pat and rub on Astrid's belly with a gleeful smile. "You'll be taking your first breath soon, little one," she crooned.

"Not soon enough," Astrid growled. She reigned in on her expression and forced a smile at Valka, who would have been part of the search party to find her son, but Astrid's water broke just before they took off and Valka made the snap decision to support her daughter-in-law instead.

"I don't want to say it, but I'm glad you're here." Astrid paused as another contraction hit with a merciless vengeance.

Valka smiled and waited it out with her. "Of course, my dear. The search party doesn't really need me. Besides, I know Hiccup is alive and making his way back as we speak. He's my son. I would know if something happened to him. Call it a mother's instinct."

Astrid nodded as she also held the same conviction. Hiccup was her husband, after all. He knew the time was nigh and would never allow himself to miss the birth of their firstborn.

Another contraction threatened to hit, but it waited, paused on the precipice like a sneeze that would not come out.

"Auuugh! This is torture!" Astrid hissed.

Valka smiled and patted her hand. "I know. It will pass."

"I'm no stranger to pain!" Astrid snapped, then gave an apologetic look for the attitude. "Hiccup wouldn't miss this for the world. When I see him, I'll-" she started to pound a fist into the palm of her hand when another wave of pain washed over.

"Use that anger! Push! C'mon girl!"

"HRRRRRRRRAAAAGH!"

The loud bugling of dragons sounded outside, blending in with Astrid's pained outcry and then crescendoing as more joined the racket. Even through the walls and roof, it was so loud that Astrid had to cover her ears. Finally, the roaring settled down to scattered squawks and grunts of dragons excitedly buzzing around outside.

There was a rattling at the door, then the clattering of someone banging on it. Astrid could hear Hiccup and his dragon both grunting in frustration. From outside, she could hear Tuffnut's sarcastic voice saying, "I know, I know, so complicated, these pesky latches. Lift, like this."

The click of the latch lifting could be heard, followed by more impatient pounding on the door.

"Pull, not push," Tuffnut said from outside. The door was flung open and Toothless forced his sleek form through the doorway with much more difficulty than normal only to trip over himself and sprawl out. Hiccup came running in behind and tripped over his dragon to land on top. As someone from outside closed the door, Tuffnut shouted, "And good luck! You know how Astrid can be very… ya know… _Astrid_."

If Astrid wasn't beside herself with relief to see her husband alive, she would have considered how hard of a punch that last comment deserved.

The tangled mess of dragon and rider writhed around to stand - Hiccup sticking his rear in the air like a yak - and they rushed forward. Astrid started to shout his name in joy, "Hic-" but another contraction chose that very moment to wallop her. "HRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" She panted a few breaths and wailed, "Why it is still hurting so much?!"

Hiccup and Toothless rushed to her bedside. Astrid grabbed Hiccup's wrist, hauled him in against the bed, and punched him in the gut. "Where _were_ you?!" she hissed.

Hiccup groaned as he slid down to the floor, "Whyyyyyy?"

Astrid scrunched her face and grit her teeth through the pain. "You deserve it," she ground out. "You were supposed to be here four days ago!" She paused as she felt another contraction coming. "Oh gods, again, so soon? Wh-RRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAGH!"

"Sorrry!" Hiccup said, sounding a little drunk. "We sorry!"

"What happened-" Another contraction hit and Astrid screamed it out. She caught her breath and asked the question plaguing her, "What _happened_ to you?"

Hiccup looked at Toothless and pressed a hand to the dragon's nose. "We cave. Go. Go cave we. Ah! To! Find thing. Shiny. Rock." He closed his eyes and huffed in frustration. "We go to cave shiny rock touch bad no like!" Toothless gave an exasperated groan and Hiccup crossed his arms with a grouchy grunt.

Astrid punched Hiccup again in frustration just in time for the next contraction. After her vision straightened, she stared at him, hoping to find some reason for his apparent madness. "Are you… drunk?" Hiccup had never liked ale and would not be the type of person to drown his problems in a mug.

"I? Ah! Me?" Hiccup asked in bewilderment, rubbing his shoulder and shuffling out of reach, staring at his legs in deep concentration as if walking was a difficult task. "I no. No that. No me. No… I…" he cast a pleading look at his dragon.

"... What?" Astrid asked, then slowed her breathing at a reminder from Valka.

"Toothless!" Hiccup said. "I am!" He pointed to his dragon. "He me, no like!" He stamped his foot emphatically - well, not his foot but the prosthetic secured to the stump on his maimed leg - and then winced at the pain.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Whatever! Goth- HRRRRRRRRAAAAGH! Gothi, smack him for spewing such nonsense!"

Gothi hefted her staff, but she cocked her head in thought and then looked like a dog that had its favorite bone taken away.

Astrid gave a confused look at Valka, who gave an equally confused and helpless look back. Valka shook her head at Gothi. "If you won't, I will. Leaving his wife to deliver their child alone and he hasn't even explained why we had to send half our riders out to find him in the first place. He was raised to be better than that!"

WHACK!

The Night Fury yelped in pain and rubbed a paw on his abused snout.

"I said to smack _Hiccup!_" Astrid gritted, staring in frustration and impatience.

WHACK!

The Night Fury let out another yelp.

Astrid groaned and leaned back into the bed. "Fine then! Smack his dragon for all I care!"

Gothi looked between the rider and his dragon and her face lit up.

WHACK! WHACK!

Both rider and dragon dropped to the floor, rolling around and groaning in pain.

Astrid pressed her hands to her temples. "Too much noise!" Another contraction hit, and it was not gentle.

Toothless rolled to all fours and pressed his snout into Astrid's hand, but she irritably batted him away. "Not now!" she hissed. Nose swatted a tail at his face, and Astrid smiled at that. "Yeah, Nose, you tell hi- NNNNNNNNNGHRRRRRAAAAAAAAGH!" she wailed as another contraction hit and the pain. Did. Not. Stop.

"Push!" Valka cheered her on. "You're doing great! I see a head!"

"Good!" Astrid grit out through her teeth between rapid breaths. "Out!" She pointed to the Night Fury. "You out!" She pointed to her belly. "And _you_ out!"

Hiccup and Toothless exchanged bewildered looks.

Losing whatever vestige of patience that yet remained, Astrid clenched her jaw and propped herself on her elbows. "Gothi!" she barked through her teeth

The elder stared at the Night Fury, and Astrid could tell there was some sort of unspoken communication going back and forth; a warbling trill, a tilt of the head, a widening of the eyes, a stooping of the posture. Finally, Gothi and Toothless sighed in unison as she goaded the dragon out with her staff. Hiccup started to follow, but a shove from the dragon's tail sent him stumbling to brace against Astrid's bed. He tried to go for the door again, but a withering glare from Gothi stopped him and made him whine. _Finally_, the dragon left and Gothi shut the door again.

Hiccup turned to look at Astrid with a swallow and a lick of his lips. She grabbed his hand with a white-knuckled death grip as she made the last pushes. Her vision spotted, her heart fluttered, and just as the pain seemed too much to bear, it got even worse.

An agonizing eternity later, it was over. Valka made short work of cutting the cord and washing the infant, and Gothi performed the ritual of life to bless the newborn in the sight of the gods. Delivered into Astrid's arms was her swaddled baby boy. Instantly, all the pain she had endured was forgotten and she could no longer think of this child as the thing that was trying to split her apart like firewood under the chopping maul.

Astrid languidly shifted her gaze up to her husband, whose expression was not as adoring as she assumed it should have been. Instead, he looked like a fish out of water and choking on air; far from whining about the hand she had grabbed, as some men did, he seemed to be trying to distract himself with it. Something had shaken him badly.

"What's wrong, Babe?" she asked, forcing her voice to be gentle.

Hiccup licked his lips and swallowed. "I… I…"

The baby feebly squirmed and Astrid's heart leaped. "He's beautiful, isn't he?"

"I… I…" he flicked a glance at Gothi, then nodded.

Astrid sighed. _Hiccup being Hiccup_, she thought to herself. He was always brilliant and brave in his own way even though he shied away from physical violence. However, even though he and the dragon he rode had saved Berk from a mind-controlling behemoth - _twice_ \- his brain would shut down every now and then. He almost fainted on their wedding night, nine months ago. Of course he'd balk when the consequences of that night were fully realized.

She smiled at her goofy husband. It was one of his quirks, annoying at times, but mostly adorable. "I figured there's a lot to fill me in on with how long you've been delayed, but I'm not upset; let's put that aside for now. You were here to watch him come out, and you're here with me now. This is our moment. Our triumph. Our child."

Hiccup looked at the child for the briefest instant before he averted his eyes towards the door. A tear wormed its way down his cheek. He swiped at it, sniffed, looked at Gothi, and sighed.

"What's wrong, Hiccup?" Astrid asked.

"Gothiiii, I wanna telll herrrr!" Tofa pleaded, but the elder gave a curt shake of her head and the girl deflated.

"Rrrrrr, uhhhh, I not. Toothless happy you…" he gestured feebly at the newborn, then became engaged in some wordless discussion with Gothi again.

"Something is off," Valka mumbled, paying attention to Hiccup instead of the delivery for the first time since he entered. "Hiccup is acting… strange. Well, _more_ strange than _normal_." Outside, a dragon groaned.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know." She grabbed his wrist and hauled him over to touch the child. The look on his face when those tiny fingers wrapped around his pinky was absolutely priceless!

"What shall we call him, Hiccup?" she asked.

Hiccup froze. "Toothless." Tofa burst out laughing, rolling around on the ground. Astrid punched Hiccup's shoulder. "OW!"

"We're _not_ naming him after your dragon," Astrid said in annoyance. As impossible as it seemed, Tofa's laughing intensified.

Hiccup's face lit up. "Yes dragon! I Toothless dragon!"

"Can't… breathe…" Tofa gasped.

"Nevermind," Astrid said. "You look pale. Go get some fresh air. I'm sure you're up to your neck in chiefly duties." She took a good, hard look at his eyes. "And you look like you've been through a sausage grinder. Get some sleep. We'll figure out a name later. We'll sort things out tomorrow."

"Yes!" he said as he shot upright… and fell over. He scrambled up - from that weird butt-in-the-air posture again - shared a sly look with Gothi for some strange reason, and scrambled out. Well, he tried, but he smacked right into the door, fell down, picked himself back up, and finally managed to convince the door to allow him outside.

Astrid gave an accusing glare at Gothi's deeply-wrinkled face. She had that "I know something and you're not going to believe it" sort of smirk. It didn't help that Tofa was still rolling around, laughing hysterically as her Terrible Terror hopped on and around her.

"Something is up," Astrid said.

Gothi nodded.

"Gothiii, pleeeease, lemme tell her."

Gothi shook her head.

"Something big," Astrid said.

Gothi nodded again.

Tofa blurted out, "Hiccup and Toothless-" she was stopped by a withering glare from the elder as if it was a physical blow. She then held her dragon above her lap and stared into her eyes. "I know, Shrill, right? Crazy! Every one of us! We're _all crazy_!"

"I'm not going to like this one bit," Astrid said, already sure of the answer.

Gothi grinned.

Astrid sighed as she helped her newborn find his way to his first meal on Midard. All she had to say was, "Well, I'll deal with it later."

* * *

**A/N:  
**So, ummm, yeah, that just happened. I never thought I'd write a story like this, but we're totally going there! If you've caught on to… what's going on… then congrats! If not, don't worry, all will be revealed in the next chapter.

Oh, and I can assure you there will not be any mature content. Well, there may be a little fighting, a bit of blood, and the potential for one or two foul words to slip in, but this story has nothing to do with citrus fruits. To Quote Cave Johnson from the game Portal, "When life gives you lemons… make life take the lemons back! Get mad! I don't want your damn lemons!"

Any and all comments are greatly appreciated, as always. This community has a lot of brilliant minds, and whether your feedback is positive or critical, I always love to hear your thoughts.

Many thanks to Deadly-Bagel for volunteering to beta my story. Any extra shine is totally his doing. Go check out his "A Gift of Wings" story and tell him I sent you.

**Obligatory Disclaimer:  
**I don't own HTTYD or its characters. I just put 'em in funny poses to try to make you laugh at them.


	2. Revealed

**A/N:  
**I'm trying out slapping my A/N at the start of a chapter instead of the end as usual. Lemme know if you think this is a bad idea.

My inexpressibly heartfelt thanks to you for reading, double that if you take a moment to share your thoughts in a review or PM. And thank you Deadly-Bagel for being my beta buddy.

Wodenfang, yep, one of those kinda stories. Well, we're at least somewhere in that ballpark. I haven't yet seen a story with this sorta twist.

Dragonrider's Fury, I find it very heartening that you're intrigued as well as confused. Yep, Hiccup totally thinks he's a dragon and hopefully you'll see why in a moment.

Deadly-Bagel, umm, thanks for your comment. That is all. (-:

* * *

**Revealed**

Astrid walked to her home, the chief's house, with her little bundle of joy tucked into her arms, flanked by Valka. It was one of those few Summer days when the sun shone brightly through a blue sky and it was almost so warm one might call it "not cold." After a large portion of a meaty stew that was thoughtfully brought over from the Great Hall and a night of sleeping in Gothi's hut, Astrid was glad to have been given the boot to go back home.

Something was amiss, though, that much was certain, and it all centered around a certain husband and his Night Fury. It was an itch that Astrid was impatient to scratch because everyone knew something she didn't and would clam up and insist she hear it straight from Hiccup. "Or the dragon," Tofa had thrown in with a devious smirk and a failed attempt to suppress a giggle.

Valka strode in front of Astrid to open the door for her, but she paused at the unexpected voice of Tuffnut from inside.

"Good! See, Mr. T? Words are necessary. Trust me, if I could get away with never talking, I'd be all over it. Now watch this. Mr. Night Fury, stick your butt in the air. Ha! Shake it like you just don't care! Now, ummmm, chase your tail like a dog." A series of loud crashes could be heard. "Ohh, good thing that ax didn't fall on your tail. Or face. But do you see, T? Alright, now… dance with me." Thumping on wood could be heard. "Yes, _dance_! Oh, isn't it so wonderful, Hiccup? Muahahahahahaaa, it's glorious!"

With a look that clearly said, "There is nothing good that can come from this," Valka slowly opened the door and Astrid's jaw dropped - but not her child, thankfully - at the sight before her. The Night Fury was strutting around on his hind legs, forelegs crooked to the side like chicken wings, actual wings loosely flopping around and slapping against walls and chairs. His tail dragged around limply behind him with his real tailfin flopping just as listlessly as the prosthetic counterpart, and his head was thrown back to chortle loudly at his antics. Tuffnut had joined in a similar fashion, clucking like a chicken and shouting his approval.

"Don't see that every day," Valka dryly commented.

At that, everything instantly ground to a halt. Hiccup, Toothless, and Tuffnut all looked over at the newcomers and went stiff. Frozen mid-step, the dragon keeled over, thrashed to avoid falling, stumbled on his wing, and toppled over, taking Tuffnut down with a loud "BAW-GAWK!" They both instantly tried to spring back upright and failed miserably at it.

"How about we _don't_ mash the squishy human to a pulp, please," Tuffnut wheezed. The dragon flopped to his side and Tuffnut picked himself up. "Thanks. Your claws and my spleen make for an unpleasant match if you ask me."

"What are you doing here, Tuffnut?" Astrid asked. She wasn't upset, but it was a bit jarring. Where there was a

Thorston, there was trouble. "And why were you… dancing… with Toothless?" She looked at Toothless. "And I've never known you to be _that_ silly. Or clumsy."

Tuffnut suddenly looked uncharacteristically uncomfortable and pensive as he carefully sidled along the wall. "Oh, how late the hour is. I really need to go, uhh, polish my mace…" He shimmied his lanky body through the small gap between Astrid and the door, then bolted out.

"Well, if that wasn't weird…" Astrid drawled out.

Valka watched him go, then gave her head a little shake and rushed forward to hug Hiccup. "Congratulations, son! A healthy baby boy! A dragon rider, a chief, a husband, and now a father! I'm _so_ proud of you!"

Hiccup froze in her embrace and his dragon stared longingly with a quiet whine. Astrid decided to just shrug it off as them being weird. Still. She handed the infant to Hiccup. "Here, hold him."

The man just stood there, jaw hanging. Astrid figured he might freeze up like this since it was something that didn't involve his dragon, so she tugged and shoved his arms into the proper position.

"Don't forget to support the head," she said encouragingly. "The neck is quite weak and soft this young."

Hiccup's only response was to stand there, rigid and white, saying, "Urrrrrr..."

He was stiff as a mast but he'd need to get used to holding his son. Astrid left him there to pick up the ax and spears that were knocked down from their mountings. "And Toothless," she said sternly, turning to the dragon with the ax held out in mock-threat, "you know I don't like you rampaging around inside. If you're feeling restless, go run around outside and tear up a tree. Chase Tuffnut and give him an invigorating mauling."

The dragon groaned. Hiccup's eyes rapidly flicked between their child and the dragon.

"Something's wrong," Valka mumbled, staring studiously into Hiccup's eyes.

"Of course," Astrid casually said, unconcerned. She looked up at the mountings for the ax, high on the wall, and then at a stool by the dragon's tail. "Hey, Toothless, wanna shove that stool over here?" A moment of blank staring passed before Astrid sighed and walked to get it herself. She flicked her head to Valka and said, "My devious husband, his Night Fury, and a Thorston were conspiring. You sound surprised that something's wrong. Could there be a greater recipe for disaster?"

"No, not that," Valka said slowly, deep in thought.

Out of the corner of her eye, Astrid saw Valka step over and place a hand on the dragon's snout. She was a so-called "dragon whisperer", and such a term was in no way a simple euphemism. It was the natural consequence of having spent so many years removed from human contact, with only dragons to talk to. Dragons communicated, she had learned, not with any sort of vocal language but by projecting their raw thoughts through the air. As such, the only way to hear them was to condition her mind to quiet her thoughts enough so that she could hear the things the mind would naturally ignore.

It was first explained to Astrid as something analogous to a hunter's trance, something with which she was quite familiar. Every scratch on a rock, the way the wind whistled through the branches, every tree scrape and irregularity on the forest floor, most of these little details would normally go unnoticed. However, on a hunt, no library full of books could hold the entirety of all the information she would garner on a hunt. A tree scrape, and then another, a male elk moving East from a lake after a drink. A pair of hoofprints in the soil, something spooked him recently and he dug in deep to flee. A disturbance in the leaves over here, droppings underneath, cold but odorous and still wet with few bugs, a recent deposit. Farther along, the ferns matted down, he slept there only hours ago.

As with the forest, so with the mind. Astrid knew that Valka was receiving a whole torrent of impressions from the dragon - sight, sound, touch, taste, anything between the ears. In an instant, a dragon could convey more details than one could write on a basket full of parchment filled with tiny runes. In fact, the dragons on Berk had to learn to slow down when "speaking" to a dragon whisperer or the human's mind would feel like Tuffnut's spleen under Toothless' paws a moment ago.

"Odin's blind eye," Valka whispered, "it's really you? But… yes, I see, but…"

Astrid flicked a glance to see that nothing was amiss and then stepped down to look at her handiwork with a frown. The handle of the ax she returned to its resting place was crooked. This would not be tolerated!

"Astrid, there's something…" Valka lost her tongue and resorted to lunging forward to wrap her arms around the Night Fury's neck. "You poor thing," she murmured.

"Gimme a sec," Astrid said as she jumped back up on the stool to inspect the mountings. The peg supporting the handle by the ax head was loose. No wonder things looked crooked! Over time, it might work itself out with every slam of the door and the ax could fall and lop off someone's head. Even worse, it could harm her child!

"Astrid," Valka said more insistently, taking a step back from the dragon, "this is important."

Astrid whacked the peg with the palm of her hand, but she could tell it still wasn't seated properly. "Yeah, well so is this," she said idly. "A stitch in time saves nine. Or a life, in this case." She lifted the ax off the wall and used the flat of the head as an improvised hammer, then grunted in satisfaction at a job well done as she set the ax in its place again.

She looked down at Hiccup, still standing in the same spot, still rigid and pale. As Astrid hopped to the floor, she decided to help loosen him up. "What do you think of our little guy?" she asked, heartily slapping him on the back.

"GAH!"

Hiccup threw his hands up in panic. The hands that had been holding their child. Before Astrid could find her footing to react, Valka lunged to grab the child and ended up slamming Hiccup into the wall in her haste.

As everyone caught their breath, Astrid felt angry at Hiccup at first, but she realized in the clarity of retrospect that it was her own fault. She knew Hiccup was out of his element, handling their child for the first time, and having been through gods-know-what before with whatever had delayed him on his way home. Besides, Hiccup was always known to be very clumsy, though that had diminished a lot since the dragon war ended.

Astrid sighed and said, "My fault, Babe." She pecked a kiss on his lips, then put an arm around Valka's shoulder. "Thanks," she whispered.

She put a hand on the child to transfer him over to her arms, but Valka withdrew with a sullen look. "I think I should hold onto him for a little longer, dear."

Astrid needed something more, some sort of contact with the child she almost lost, so she insistently stroked his head. However, she had to admit she was feeling a bit off-kilter and her knees felt a little weak.

"Fine," she said forlornly. "I think I need a rest anyway." Jumping up and down like that the morning after giving birth wasn't smart.

Valka looked into Astrid's eyes in a way that drew the breath from her lungs. "No, not that, Astrid. Hiccup… Toothless… they're… It sounds so silly to put into words."

Something was wrong. Something was really, really wrong. Worry creasing her brow, Astrid wrapped her arms around Hiccup's shoulders and brushed her nose against his neck. He was clearly shaken from something big, and Astrid felt a little guilty about having dismissed him so flippantly. Usually, he took it in stride, but now that she looked closer, she could see the panic in his eyes.

"What's up, Hiccup?" she asked.

Hiccup stood rigid. In a shaky voice, he said, "I Toothless."

"I _am_ Toothless," Valka said as if patiently correcting a pupil.

Astrid stood upright and stared at him. Her sympathy was starting to wane as she grew suspicious that some sort of prank was afoot.

Hiccup looked over at his dragon. "He Firefly." That was the dragon's name for his rider, his light in the dark and source of joy.

"He _is_ Firefly," Valka corrected again. "And you should call him Hiccup around most people. Not everyone is used to the names you dragons use for us."

Astrid rolled her eyes and punched Hiccup in the shoulder, then bent down to pick up the spears that were formerly crossed on the wall by the table. He was just jerking her leg after all, the little stinker.

"Now's really a bad time for games," Astrid wearily said over her shoulder. "And why are you encouraging him, Valka? C'mon."

Valka slowly shook her head, gesturing at Astrid, then to Toothless with an open palm.

Astrid knew what that meant. She too was a dragon whisperer, and while dragons could communicate from at least a stone's throw away, a human required physical contact to hear the projected thoughts. Valka clearly wanted her to hear what Toothless had to share.

Learning to hear dragons was the hardest thing Astrid had ever done in her entire life. Even before Hiccup found Valka, back before all the drama with Drago and his Bewilderbeast, Hiccup - also known as "the dragon hugger" - had learned to hear dragons and leaned on Astrid to apply herself to do likewise. She finally caved but quickly discovered it was an uphill struggle. She could handle all sorts of training, be it running, sparring, ax throwing, hauling logs, anything, but all that meditating, every single morning spent focusing on breath and nothingness for months on end, was the most grueling task she had ever endured. Even in the throes of childbirth, she knew that the pain, though intense, would end, but the meditating and nonstop calmness and focusing on nothingness had no light at the end of the tunnel, no promise of any payoff. It was pure _agony_.

Of course, the bookish Fishlegs absolutely _loved_ it.

However, she had eventually prevailed over the enemy that was nothingness and developed in her ability to hear Stormfly at first, then other dragons too. She hoped that Toothless could quickly explain the joke being played on her. He was always the killjoy of any prank when she pressured him into revealing whatever plot was afoot.

Astrid puffed out a sigh and held up her hand. "Alright, show me what you got."

Through the contact of her hand on the Night Fury's snout, she was connected to the dragon in a way that few had ever experienced. She saw herself, through Hiccup's eyes, as he mounted up on his dragon. Well, she saw, yes, but she also heard her own voice bidding him a safe flight, the wind whistling off the cliffs, and the waves crashing below. She smelled the salty air and the faint hint of yeast from her mother's bakery nearby. She felt the warmth of her hand in Hiccup's before he donned his mittens, cinched up his riding gear, and clipped himself to his dragon. In a single instant, Astrid partook of everything that defined Hiccup at that moment in time. For all intents and purposes, she _was_ Hiccup as much as Hiccup was Hiccup.

It was strange to receive Hiccup's memory from his dragon, but not unprecedented. Dragons had flawless memories, and with how freely they could communicate with each other - or a dragon whisperer like Hiccup - it wasn't uncommon for a dragon to have someone else's memories rolling around in their noggins. When called out on how they could so seamlessly meld their own impressions of an event along with another's as a single cohesive stream, they would blink in surprise that such a thing was even noteworthy, exuding the same confusion as one who was asked, "Why can't I see things with my eyes closed?"

Astrid had no time to dwell on that as that moment had passed and another arrived. She experienced Hiccup brace for his dragon to take off, and they shot up and sped over the sea. In an instant, the morning passed, the dragon gracefully skipping over so many details, but she still garnered the thrill of flight and the satisfaction with each aerial stunt performed along the way. They landed on Meathead island, spoke to the chief and some of the villagers, some of whom also rode dragons, and some of them were also dragon whispers - a brilliant ploy Hiccup had started in years past to force them to respect dragons as people instead of dumb animals.

The so-called "haunted" cave was quickly found. If there was any living creature in there, Toothless would have detected them from outside, but there was nothing within. Hardly an insect or rodent could be found as they explored the natural tunnels, torch in hand. There was nothing unusual about it at all until they stumbled across an interesting cavern that was dimly lit by light bleeding in through some sort of clear blue stone in the ceiling.

A bright ray of sunlight shone on what was definitely a manmade pedestal, the top of which looked like two stone hands stretching up from the pillar to cradle a fist-sized gemstone. The most interesting feature of the chamber was the walls, though. They were unnaturally smooth and flat, and when Hiccup held the torch up, he could see shapes of all sorts completely covering all surfaces. Drawings and runes from uncountable languages stretched out, some scratched into the stone, others drawn in ink, charcoal, or blood.

Hiccup took a moment to look away from the runes to see his dragon nosing the gemstone. "Hey, look at that, Bud," he said as he went over to investigate, then grinned mischievously. "I always thought dragons were more interested in gold, but this stone certainly _is_ shiny."

The dragon took a deep sniff, pressing his nose against it, and Hiccup had to admit that it did look very mesmerizing with the way it caught the light. Actually, on closer inspection, it radiated with a soft glow that pulsated in a manner his eyes couldn't quite come to terms with. Even the pedestal was fascinating for how finely polished it was. Those stone hands, though hard as rock, were smoother than his own.

Drawn to the gemstone like a moth to a flame, Hiccup reached to pick it up to inspect it, and the instant he touched it, there was a blinding flash of light and both rider and dragon stumbled back and to the ground.

When they tried to stand up again, they couldn't. The one with two legs was used to having four, the one with four legs didn't know what to do with his wings and tail. There was no perception of change, no pain or sensation of any sort, but somehow, the mind of Hiccup, his soul, was in the dragon's body, and Toothless' soul was in the human's body.

Astrid stumbled back in shock, breaking the contact. There was hardly any perceptible passage of time in all that. She was still inhaling from her gasp at the initial surprise at having received Hiccup's memory from his dragon.

This was a joke. It _had_ to be! There was no other explanation. Sure, Gothi had all but said that there was something Midgard-shattering that involved Hiccup and Toothless, and Tofa, being the most capable dragon whisperer, was just _dying_ to tell Astrid some big secret. It may explain why Hiccup and Toothless were delayed so long in returning home, and why her goofy husband stumbled so much and would pick himself back up by first lifting his butt in the air, and why the normally graceful dragon was suddenly so clumsy, and so many other things, but… but…

She took a step back, slowly shaking her head. This was not happening. This _could not_ be happening! Souls switching bodies? Impossible! Laughable! It was a prank and nothing more, an elaborate prank. It _had_ to be!

The young man took a step forward, but his eyes were full of haughty longsuffering that carried a subtle sort of regal dignity. He looked down at her even though he didn't stand above her, and everything about his expression and his stance voiced his frustration with the situation and that Astrid was so slow to accept what was before her eyes. He said, "Zealot…"

It was her so-called "dragon name". Apparently, Toothless had named her Zealot when she discovered him in the cove, tried to kill him, tried to warn the village about Hiccup's betrayal, was snatched up and flown to the nest, and then suddenly became their dedicated ally in dealing with the dragon war. Toothless had initially despised her for her rough treatment with Hiccup, but he quickly learned to respect her as one who would fight without reservation for what was right.

The dragon took a step forward, head lowered, and crooned consolingly. The look in his eyes, so gentle and humble, did not seem to fit the so-called "offspring of lightning and death". With his teeth retracted into their gums, he forced his lips into a smile that clearly did not come from actual joy. He looked both hopeful and guilty.

It was just like the cove, when Astrid first discovered Toothless, except they swapped expressions, with Hiccup's culpable expression on the dragon's face, and Toothless' pride on the rider's.

All Astrid could do was slowly shake her head in disbelief. "I… I don't… but…"

Standing here in their presence was an itch she could not tolerate. She had run from Hiccup and Toothless in the cove, and now…

"Oh, Astrid," Valka consoled. She took a step and made to embrace Astrid, but Astrid shied away, grabbed her ax from the table, and ran to unlatch the door.

She could feel her pulse hammering in her temples. This was too much to simply accept. Her blood boiled with the desire to wring someone's neck or chop through it, maybe both. As she wrenched the door open, her eyes instantly shot to the child squirming in Valka's embrace. The two mothers shared a look, one that conveyed sympathy, understanding, and a solemn promise to take care of the child until Astrid returned. There was no question that Valka would protect him with her life.

"Where are you going, dear?" Valka called after her.

Astrid blinked into the morning light. "Somewhere. Nowhere. I don't know."

She started sprinting full-tilt and never looked back.


	3. Coming to Terms

**A/N:**  
Well, this chapter was a lotta fun to write. Thank you Deadly-Bagel for beta-reading and thank you, my dear reader, for joining the party.

Toothlessgolfer, yes, we can totally expect some changes in how Hiccup and Toothless feel and behave. All along, Toothless has always been a firestarter just by being, well, Toothless, and we're soon gonna see how being in Hiccup's body enables him in various amusing ways.

Wodenfang, thanks for the references on other body swap stories. Shenanigans in abundance await! I can't believe one of those stories used some magical stone as a mechanic for causing the body swap. That author must have absolutely zero imagination. :P

Dragonrider's Fury, thanks for the kind words. I think I'll take it as a compliment that you don't even know how to respond to what just happened. (-:

* * *

**Coming to Terms**

Toothless lurched forward after his rider, his Firefly, who was chasing after Astrid, but a hand held him back. Firefly's dam, or "Valka" as the land-striders called her, could have physically restrained him with little effort, but she only had a few fingers on his shoulder. It was nothing more than a gesture, but it was enough to make him stop and look back at her.

"Cloudjumper and Stormfly are shadowing them, Toothless," Valka said. "Hiccup will be fine. Give Astrid some time."

Toothless slumped to the ground, leaning against a wall. "Rrrrrrrraaaaaaauughhhhhhh," he half-roared, half-groaned. He then proceeded through a fit of coughing.

Land-striders never could roar properly.

With the delicate grace that didn't seem to fit a bipedal creature without even a tail for stability, Valka lowered herself to sit next to him, balancing on her toes as she went down and folding her legs over each other, all while holding the thrashing hatchling cradled in her arms.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

"No like!" Toothless snapped.

Valka hummed thoughtfully and then said, "You understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes."

He could tell that Valka was already fairly convinced of that, but she snorted in surprise anyway.

The previous day, when he first had contact with other land-striders since moving to Firefly's body, he was taken by surprise that he could understand what they said. As a dragon, land-striders would often speak to him, but it would have been beneath a dragon to try to learn what those sounds meant. He never understood why they would resort to a sequence of guttural grunts and singsong chittering to represent the vague eddies of thought and then require the listener to reverse the process and try to figure out what thoughts those sounds were supposed to represent. It was all so silly!

Now that he was deaf to projected thoughts, with the exception of when he was touching a dragon, he could suppose that there was some sense behind speaking.

"How do you feel…" Valka started to say, but she fell silent, clearly at a loss of words, which also meant her mind couldn't process where to go with that thought. They stared at each other, then down at the fussing hatchling she was holding.

"Lonely," Toothless said as one word came to mind, and with that word, the dam broke and his thoughts flowed, to some extent. Up until now, whenever he was called on to speak, he would put his hand on Firefly's snout and receive instructions on how to wield such an ungainly means of expressing himself. The words were there, he could tell that much. Just as he had to learn to not think about walking in order to walk, and just as Firefly had to not think about flying in order to fly, there was some ability left behind by the former occupant of this body. His life winds, the thing one could not see that gave breath and thought, had somehow nested in Firefly's body, filling in the void left as Firefly's life winds nested in the dragon's. Perhaps certain habits and instincts were so deeply-rooted that they could not be blown away. Perhaps there was some turbulence as their life winds passed by each other and there was some mixing and mingling.

"Isolated," he said, focusing hard on not thinking about how to soar on the clumsy thermals of speech. Again, for some reason, moving his lips and speaking words helped him think, and thinking helped him figure out which words to use. It was a very strange process.

"Quiet." Yes, quiet. It was so very quiet, like the deafening silence that lingers after the loud crash of lightning nearby. Toothless had always been cognizant of the passive hum emitted by almost every living creature in the general area, but in this body, there was only nothingness. All the noise in the world could not drown out the silence of not being able to hear the projected thoughts of those nearby.

He looked at Valka as he found the word he needed, "Deaf." It was unnerving that first day in this body. More than anything else, he worried that all life nearby was snuffed out, including his Firefly. There was no passive hum he could pick up, and he panicked. He quickly realized that Firefly inhabited the dragon's body, but it took a while to accept and come to terms that there could be life in the empty silence.

Valka hummed and nodded. She smiled down at the hatchling in her arms, which had started to settle down. The little thing was tired from squirming and went still in sleep. No, not a hatchling. "Baby."

"Yes, baby." Valka smiled and used her free hand to tug Toothless' hand over to the baby, guiding his fingertips into the baby's little hand, then across the face. Toothless accidentally poked the eye with a claw, still clumsy in his new and strange body, but fortunately, his claw was blunt and as deadly as a leaf. The baby squirmed at that and made a loud noise.

"Cry," Toothless said.

Valka looked at him thoughtfully. "Not only can you understand me, but you can also speak." Some instinct told him that was normally a question, but in this case, it was more like a thoughtful musing.

"Yes," Toothless said. "No." He knew he could say words, but he clearly wasn't good at it. That was what Tuffnut was trying to help with, demonstrating that the proper arrangement of words could communicate one's wants and intents. "No no no no yes." It made sense to him: one-fifth able to speak if only because the words were somehow there.

To his great astonishment, Valka seemed to understand. "We'll work on that, then. I know what it's like. I spent twenty years away from human companionship. My ability to speak was starved, but it strengthened quickly after returning to Berk."

One thought was gnawing at Toothless' mind and he finally figured out what it was. Upon learning what happened to him and Firefly, everyone would react with disbelief at first, then shock, then uncontrollable amusement at the conundrum. Valka was different.

"You good?" he asked, thumping his hand against his chest to gesture at himself. Well, that was the intent, but his fingers ended up flopping against it like fish on a rope.

Valka nodded. "It was a shock, but I've learned to elevate what I can see with my own eyes above any preconceptions. I'm forcing myself to remain calm for my own sake as well as yours and the child's." She smiled and started to gently rock the baby. "There's no doubting what happened; your mind is in Hiccup's body, and his in yours. When I touched him and heard his projected thoughts, he assured me that there was nothing lost between the two of you."

"Make me me?" Toothless asked. He knew that wasn't really something that should be able to communicate properly. There were missing words, and the order–

"I don't know if we can restore you and Hiccup back to the way you were," Valka said. Toothless' jaw dropped in surprise that she understood and she laughed at that. Her face drew downward, though, as she said, "I don't understand how touching that gemstone could have caused this in the first place. Witch's curse? Act of the gods?"

Toothless slumped. "No like."

"I do not like this," Valka corrected.

"Hate speak," Toothless grumbled.

"I hate speaking."

"I not like!"

"That's improvement!" Valka said cheerily. "But it's not good enough. Try saying, 'I don't like this.'"

"Rrrrrrrrgh!" Toothless ruffled his wings in frustration. He didn't have wings, though, and one of his arms ended up brushing past the baby, setting him off crying and thrashing. Toothless instantly pulled his hands in and wrapped them around his torso as he gave a petulant look at Valka.

As the baby settled down, Valka hummed consolingly and grabbed Toothless' hand, gently guiding it to the baby's, and those tiny fingers gripped him. The dragon-turned-land-strider couldn't help but feel a thrill at evoking such a response, and he retracted his teeth into his gums and gave his signature smile… and then realized that land-striders couldn't do that.

Valka squinted at the resulting expression and instinctively hugged the child closer to herself. "We'll have to work on that, too."

########

* * *

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"RAAAAAA!"

THUNK!

Hiccup watched through a little gap in the dense foliage to see Astrid's ax embed its head into a tree. She had always insisted that her battle cry was an important part of aiming. As she trotted over to retrieve it, Hiccup took the opportunity to slink another few silent steps closer.

"RAAAA!"

THUNK!

The tree across the clearing took the blow with a quiver up and down the trunk. It had many gouges in it, all tightly grouped, which Hiccup could clearly see even from a hundred feet away. As Astrid trotted over to retrieve the weapon, Hiccup slunk a little closer. He felt compelled to show himself to her, but he also didn't want to disturb her. After all, Astrid could be very, well, Astrid.

"RAAAAA!"

**THUNK!**

_Something_ happened, and Hiccup blinked as he reassessed his surroundings, his heart pounding. He was on his back, thrashing and kicking to right himself, at least fifty feet from where he'd stood an instant earlier. Astrid's ax handle quivered in the tree next to the one Hiccup had been hiding behind. Realization dawned that instincts must have taken over and thrown him to the side.

"A raging boar is more subtle than you!" she called over to Hiccup.

He finally found his feet – paws, whatever – and slinked over to the ax. With his teeth retracted – a trick he was ecstatic to learn on the second day – he clamped down on the handle, jerked it free, and sauntered over to Astrid to offer it to her, head low, eyes downcast.

"You know I don't like it when you look at the ground," Astrid said in a measured tone.

Hiccup snapped his eyes to hers in surprise. The way she said that made it clear that she knew who she was really talking to. She didn't like it, obviously, but she was coming around to accepting that it was so.

He forced himself to look at Astrid, to really study her up and down. He made himself look at the fierce fire burning in those deep blue eyes, the strong stance of her shoulders, the corded muscles twining up and down her arms and legs, the way the tendons rippled in her neck when she turned to look at him. Ever since puberty, whenever he caught a glimpse of her, he would have certain… feelings. On the occasions she acknowledged his existence it took all his effort to not hyperventilate and pass out.

Ever since they married, back in the Fall, Astrid thought Hiccup's reaction to her staring into his eyes was adorable, and the way he forgot how to breathe when they went to bed to consummate their marriage made her laugh as she picked him up off the floor. However, humor eventually turned to annoyance, and she focused that into a sharp four-knuckled reprimand on his shoulder every time he scrunched inward and stared at the floor under her gaze – something he would have sworn was inspired by Toothless's tail-slap whenever his rider degraded himself. She was a goddess, and to look on her divine beauty felt so wrong, like he was greedily wasting the most magnificent gift the gods had ever given by accepting her relationship with a… a… a talking fishbone!

As the bruises faded and appeared less frequently, his confidence increased. She still giggled at the slack-jawed look he would give her whenever she stretched and did her pull-ups and push-ups in the morning when they were alone, but they would train their faces and put on a business expression outside the house. A chief couldn't have his mind in the clouds when managing the affairs of his tribe, after all.

As Hiccup looked at Astrid through the eyes of a dragon, though, he felt a loss clawing at his insides, nothing more. The feelings she used to inspire by simply _existing_ weren't there anymore. He recognized that she was very athletic, strong and fast, a fine specimen of her kind and a fierce Viking. Even now, with the general looseness of her torso that resulted from the recent delivery of their son, even when she was bloated before the delivery a week ago, she still carried an impossible combination of dignified power and stunning beauty.

However, the feelings he had come to expect every time he saw her, the fluttering of his heart and… other feelings… they simply weren't there. It made sense, of course, since he was a dragon and she wasn't. The very notion of a dragon feeling aroused at the sight of a human was as silly as the notion of a human feeling aroused at the sight of a dragon. It would be silly nonsense to expect otherwise!

Astrid stared into his eyes, into his very soul, as she slowly accepted the proferred ax. She cradled it close to her torso and turned to the side, eyes closed.

"So, you really are Hiccup, my husband, in Toothless' body?"

She opened her eyes a little bit to see him gently nodding.

"RAAAAA!"

THUNK!

Without conscious thought, HIccup took a few paces towards the ax and forced himself to grind to a halt. It was instinct to chase it, to bite down on it. He gave a coy look back at Astrid and she grinned despite the situation.

"Ha! You wanna play fetch, boy? Go ahead. Go fetch!"

Hiccup let out a little warble – which had become a jarringly natural thing to do – and loped after it, focusing on not thinking about running on four legs instead of two and balancing with the tail and keeping his wings tucked in to avoid–

He stumbled and rolled onto his back, sending chunks of sod into the air from all his thrashing. _Much_ better than yesterday! Progress was _always_ exciting!

Ax in mouth, he trotted back to Astrid.

"And all of you is in there?" She gestured to his head. "Everything that defines my husband, the tribe's chief, the devious little inventor? It's really you, just…" she gestured vaguely to the entirety of the Night Fury in front of her.

Hiccup rolled his eyes. _You just gestured to _all _of me,_ he thought to himself.

Astrid found a nearby fallen tree to sit on and Hiccup sat on his haunches on the ground in front of her, which turned out to be more difficult and felt a lot more awkward than he had ever assumed.

"Oh, the gods must hate me," Astrid moaned. "What am I supposed to do with _this_?" She flailed her arms at that last word and ended up laying down, her spine balanced along the log. "What am I supposed to do with you? Or Toothless in my husband's body? How are we supposed to raise our child together? And we planned on giving him a sibling next… Summer…"

Her eyes drifted downward towards Hiccup's haunches. There was nothing there, of course, at least nothing visible on the outside. He snorted at her for where her mind had drifted for a moment – another disturbingly natural gesture.

"Don't look at me like that!" she snapped. "I had a husband to sleep with, and now he's a dragon, and his dragon is my husband, and… oh, it's so confusing and frustrating! We had things all set and then you had to..."

Hiccup wilted and whined. Astrid froze. A tense moment passed.

She quickly swung a leg over to lunge into Hiccup, wrapping her arms around his neck, and Hiccup surprised himself at a snarl that he quickly suppressed. He had to remind himself that she wasn't attacking him by going for the neck. It was only a hug, a show of affection.

_Besides, this is _Astrid_! It's not like she would attack me… except when she's forcing me to train to fight when I don't want to. At least she never hurts me… unless I deserve it. Well, she wouldn't _injure _me._

Astrid tensed at the unexpected snarl, but she relaxed again along with Hiccup. "I wasn't being fair, and I really am sorry, Babe," she said. "This cannot be easy for you either. It's not like you did this on purpose." She pulled back again to examine him. "Right?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes.

Astrid huffed and nodded. "Well, I guess it is what it is, but what was with that snarling?"

He stretched his neck forward to offer his snout, a common gesture that a dragon wanted to talk to a dragon whisperer. Astrid was among the handful who could hear dragons, but it required physical contact. She held up her hand and pressed a palm to the offered snout. Though the raw thoughts he projected were above and aside from spoken language, he knew that it would be internalized as such by her.

_{It caught me off-guard. I felt threatened. I'm still me, but there's a little bit of Toothless in here and he's very twitchy. It won't happen again.}_

Astrid pulled back to stare into his eyes. "Good," she said. She leaned forward to hug him again, slowly this time, and they sank into each other. As she stood there, eyes closed, gently stroking his eye ridges, she gently asked, "Is it… can you… get back to yourself?"

Hiccup sighed. His general resentment at the situation was something he knew Astrid could feel through that contact. No matter what they did with that gemstone that had changed them, nothing else happened.

_{I don't know. I want to go back to being me. Toothless wants to be himself. Nobody wanted this and everybody wants us restored. I want to hold our child in my human arms.}_ He projected a torrent of impressions, memories from the past several months of all the things he had looked forward to doing as a husband and father. He still loved Astrid, and she still loved him, but so much of the experience was denied because he was a dragon. He couldn't rock their child in his arms, sing to him, bathe him, or even feel his smooth skin. A dragon could do none of that because a dragon was designed from nose to tail to be an instrument of death.

Astrid picked up all of this in solemn silence.

"RAAAAAA!"

THUNK!

Hiccup resisted the urge to go fetch the ax. Astrid was walking over to retrieve it, anyway. It was all part of her routine to work out her feelings in a way that killed trees instead of people. He was so proud of her for exercising such restraint!

Astrid yanked her ax and half-stumbled backward. "I really shouldn't be out here, exerting myself like this." She stomped her foot, and Hiccup's Night Fury senses could _feel_ her frustration at the slight tremor in her knees. "I need to get back to my baby and… Oh, Gothi would smack me for being so foolish." She looked at the saddle and tailfin Hiccup was still wearing. "Flying is probably a bad idea?"

Hiccup nodded emphatically. Crashing into a cliffside would be… unproductive.

"Let's walk, then. Wanna give me a ride?"

Hiccup chortled as he lowered himself to the ground. He had to remind himself that he was easily strong enough to carry Astrid; the only issue was coordinating his limbs. As long as he didn't think too hard about how to walk, instincts did all that for him. They weren't that far from the village anyway.

"This is actually the sort of treatment I could get used to," Astrid said in jest as he entered a brisk trot. "Carried around by my husband wherever I go, treated like a queen. Mush dragon pony, mush!"

Hiccup chortled and flicked one of his sensor lobes against her arm. She pressed a hand to the back of his head because she just _had_ to hear his response to _that_.

_{Silly woman.}_

Astrid snorted. "Useless reptile."

_{No stealing! That's _my _line.}_

"That's what you think!" she declared. They settled into a moment of quiet reflection, taking in everything. She eventually broke the silence by asking, "So, how exactly _did_ you get back to Berk anyway? Did the dragons in the search party have to carry you?"

Hiccup grumbled at that, focusing on projecting his memories from the past couple of days and finding that the distraction actually made it easier to move without stumbling. He and Toothless touched that large, shining gemstone, there was a flash, and he had an alarming moment of coming to terms with learning that he had claws and a tail and wings and they always got it the way. It took him more than a moment to realize that he was Toothless, and that Toothless was in Hiccup's body.

The biggest thing to get used to, though, was the sheer amount of _noise_. Toothless, other villagers, even squirrels, every living thing constantly made noise. Well, not noise as heard by the ear, but they were all projecting something all the time. When Hiccup learned to hear dragons, Toothless had expressed this as a passive mental "hum". All creatures constantly produced this hum, and with the array of sensor lobes crowning his head, he was especially adept at hearing it.

The range was so great that he could notice the hum of almost any creature on the island, and through machinations far beyond his comprehension, he intuitively knew the approximate direction and distance of every creature he focused on. The island was fairly desolate, though, being small and mountainous, unfit for habitation. However, there were trees, so there were rabbits, squirrels, and other smaller wildlife, but no humans besides Toothless. He knew that for certain because his sensor lobes seemed to move on their own, aligning in accordance with some sort of deeply-ingrained instincts, and even the fish and other sea critters were exposed to him for miles around.

_No wonder Toothless is so good at hunting!_

The fact that Hiccup and Toothless could communicate by projecting thoughts was a game-changer. They went through a phase of flopping around as they figured out how to use their new bodies, but they always had that connection whereby they could reassure each other and explain how to eat and drink and sleep and relieve themselves.

After they both figured out walking, for the most part, they worked on flying in earnest, knowing that Astrid would go into labor any day, a week at most according to Gothi's estimation. After some practice on land, with Toothless learning how to operate the prosthetic tailfin and Hiccup learning to not think about flying so instincts could handle the wings, they took off over the ocean.

A few dunks into the ocean later, with Toothless shivering miserably and Hiccup curled around him for warmth, they decided to rest. Moving in a different body was difficult enough without the added task of also using that body to operate the levers for the prosthetic tailfin. Poor Toothless. The next day entailed more of the same bout of failures, and the day after that, Stormfly came diving at them with squawks of joy at having finally found them.

A dozen other riders and dragons descended to the beach and it took a while to get them to understand the situation. Well, the dragons understood almost immediately, but the riders were slow to accept such a concept. Fortunately, Fishlegs was a dragon whisperer, as was Tuffnut, who happened to find the predicament to be _very_ amusing. He insisted that they should feel honored for being Loki'd by Loki himself.

Toothless had shown great progress right before the last time they dunked into the ocean just offshore, and they managed to fly off that island along with their escort with dignity… for a few beats of the wings. Toothless kicked his foot the wrong direction on the control lever to handle a sudden gust of wind and sent them sliding off-balance, but Barf and Belch, the twin-headed Zippleback that the twins rode, was there to catch Hiccup and keep him aloft until Toothless got things figured out.

The flight back was not very long as Berk wasn't that far away. When they landed – and oh what a fiasco _that_ was – they heard that Astrid was in labor, scrambled into Gothi's hut, and Astrid knew what happened after that. Hiccup was still upset that she had kicked him out of Gothi's hut even though he couldn't really blame her. It was not the best of times for her to come to an understanding of what happened to her husband and his dragon.

From his back, Astrid snorted at that last part of the flow of impressions she received. "Yeah, sorry about kicking you out. You know I wouldn't have if I knew."

Hiccup warbled cheerfully as he continued to trot along. Astrid still loved him and he certainly still loved her. Absolutely nothing else in all of Midgard mattered in the slightest. Somehow, they would make things work. Everything would be alright.

"So," Astrid said lightly, "what shall we name our little boy? I was thinking 'Nuffink' sounds good."

Hiccup tripped on absolutely nothing and all and sprawled out on his belly, groaning through a mouthful of sod.

Astrid giggled as she righted herself on his back. "I'll take that as a yes."


	4. Facing the Music

**A/N:**  
Thanks for dropping on by again, and thank you Deadly-Bagel for being my beta-reading! And, of course, a special thank you if you got something to say and drop a line in either a comment or PM. This community is packed with creativity and I always enjoy hearing your thoughts. Well, not that I can hear your thoughts as if I'm a dragon whisperer, but ya know what I mean. (-:

Oh, btw, I had meant to keep a 1-week posting schedule, but I may have to stretch it out for 2 weeks for a couple chapters.

Toothlessgolfer and Dragonrider's Fury, as you suspected, here's how the villagers take the news. Yeah, this is a lotta fun to write; I'm even getting some chuckles from my beta reader.

TheWhisperingWarrior, I never saw that story before, but I read the first couple chapters and might add it to my reading queue. IMHO, the best HTTYD transformation fic is a tie among "Gift of Wings", "Umbreytingu" and "A Dragon's Gift". Someone tell Anhedral to finish out the story or Toothless will flog him with his tail.

Claymore, I figured we're at least a quarter of the way through.

* * *

**Facing the Music**

Hiccup felt his wife slide off his back as he trotted past the treeline and into the clearing around the village. "Don't wanna give the wrong message," she quietly said to him.

Everyone they passed by or who saw him from afar stopped in their tracks and stared. He knew that his transformation was known by pretty much everyone. Astrid's frustration at the notion that she was the last one in the entire village to learn about what happened was not too far from the truth.

The way they stared, though, was a bit unnerving. He could tell that they were trying to envision little Hiccup in the Night Fury, and it made him feel uneasy. It wasn't just the looks on their faces, but their posture, their smell, and everything about their passive hum that indicated on an instinctive level that tension was in the air. He felt like he was fourteen again, and yet another one of his inventions had literally blown up in his face during a dragon raid, and the villagers were staring at him in disappointment for how such a weak and clumsy failure could manage to make their lives even harder.

"Maybe growling isn't the most diplomatic tactic, Babe," Astrid quietly said.

Hiccup hadn't realized he was doing that. He focused on taking controlled breaths as he nuzzled her shoulder.

_{I must admit, the more time I spend in Toothless' body, the more of a genuine appreciation I'm developing for his restraint and self-control.}_

"You mean his ability to not maul _everyone_ who dares to look at you funny?"

_{Remember back in the forest, when you hugged me and I snarled? It was a struggle to fight the urge to snap at you, and that scared me.}_

Astrid took a step away from Hiccup, who wilted at the implication. She sighed and leaned back into his head.

"And our son? I trust your judgment. Do you trust yourself?"

Hiccup softly whined at that. _{To be honest, no, I don't. Perhaps I'll be fine, but we should take things slowly and cautiously. I literally cannot imagine what I would do around him.}_

Astrid snorted at that. It was a well-known fact among dragon whisperers that, for how amazing dragons could be, imagination, intuition, dreaming, such things were foreign to them.

"Fair enough," she said. "For now, just be yourself. Smile and wave or something."

Hiccup focused on working his face into a broad smile and waved a wing cheerfully at the villagers.

"Ya know," Astrid said thoughtfully, "I'm having a hard time deciding if you look scary or brain dead when you snarl like that."

Hiccup retracted his teeth and adjusted his smile.

A gust of wind caught his left wing with which he was waving at the crowd, pushing hard enough to flip him onto his back.

Astrid sniggered, hiding her mouth behind her hand. "That's adorable. Just walk normally. Imagine what Toothless would do if he wanted to be friendly."

Husband and wife looked at each other and snorted and laughed at that. Toothless never was the most outgoing or hospitable dragon. Granted, he was never hostile towards anyone… unless they hit Hiccup, or threatened him, or insulted or mocked him, or gave him a funny look, or felt disapproval at something he said or did. He was a hit with the children, though whenever they ran around and on him, a casual observer might describe his appearance as "absolutely terrified".

In the end, Hiccup resorted to practicing his gummy smile as he walked as normally as he could – and picking himself up whenever he tripped over his own wings. As he walked down pathways through the village, smooth bedrock under his paws, he paid close attention to the chatter all around.

"So, it's really him?"

"I've heard our chief's gone feral."

"So, ummm, the Night Fury is our new chief?"

"Over my dead body!"

"Maybe he could turn _me_ into a Night Fury?"

"Ha! Yeah, and I'll be your rider. Mush, dragon pony, mush!"

"May the gods have mercy on the next troublemaker he roots out…"

"I heard his wife just delivered a child. Healthy boy."

"Did he turn into a dragon, too?"

"I dunno, boys. Peace with dragons? Sure. Accepting one as our leader, though…"

"Dammit, the fishermen are gonna get _everything_ they want from the chief, now, and leave us in the dust."

"The fishermen… OH! I _GET_ IT! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!"

The more Hiccup heard, the more it dawned on him that he was naturally leaning on anything _other_ than hearing their spoken words to feel out the situation. He understood every word his ears picked up, but feeling out their emotional hum and the thoughts they naturally projected when they spoke gave him much more information and felt a lot more certain, betraying the unease behind the humorous facade.

At the moment, everyone was still coming to terms with the situation. There were some naysayers, but they were heard with glazed-over eyes as most people were still digesting what they had learned. To his relief, the overall mood was more curious than hostile. As he walked by a few of the villagers he knew a little better, he padded up and stared at them. They immediately averted their eyes, lacking the boldness to say anything to his face.

"I can certainly see a bit of Toothless rolling around in there," Astrid said. "You've been getting better since you became chief and we married, but I don't think I've ever seen you stare someone down quite like that."

Hiccup grunted noncommittally at that. It meant nothing. Everyone was just acting weird. They were Vikings, and this was a change, so their natural reaction would be to deny or reject it, of course.

The dragons were hardly phased by what happened to their alpha and his rider. They knew that Hiccup and Toothless saved them from the Red Death and Drago's Bewilderbeast, and with how vehemently Toothless made it clear that his rider deserved as much credit as himself, the dragons were content. They saw the mind more than the body when relating to an individual, so they still treated Hiccup the same no matter what body he occupied.

As Hiccup and Astrid walked up to their home, Astrid said, "By the way, once I get our son in my arms again, you're going to sniff out Tuffnut, tackle him, and set his arse on fire."

Hiccup gave her an affronted look, and in every way except orally, he shouted _{Why?!}_

"He left me in the dark. There he was, dancing with you and helping you and Toothless, but when I come along, ohhhh, he just dashes out and leaves me to pick up the pieces."

_{It's not his fault. I won't do it. Can you blame him for fearing your ire.}_

Astrid casually hefted her ax with a shrug. "That's the gentler option. I'll just have to go with the alternative."

Hiccup gulped at the feral smirk on her face.

########

* * *

########

Astrid lifted the latch and leaned back to swing the door to their house open and stepped in. Valka was sitting on a stool, gently rocking the baby in her arms, and she looked up with a very content smile. Toothless was sitting on the floor, feet digging in as he gently growled, pulling on one end of a rope with all his might in a game of tug of war with–

"Speak of the devil!" Astrid hissed.

"BAW-GAWK!" Tuffnut shot to his feet with the look of a rabbit fleeing from a wolf. He dropped the rope – sending Toothless falling back into the wall – ran for the entrance, twisted around Astrid, rolled under a swipe of her arm, bumped his head on the door, grunted at a kick from her, and finally scampered out.

"There he is! Go get him, Hiccup!" Astrid shouted, pointing.

Hiccup turned around and leaped off into a sprint… and then tumbled over to sprawl out on his back. From his upside-down position, he could see Astrid walk up to stand over his head.

"You did that on purpose," she said.

Hiccup huffed and rolled to his paws. His look of relief and frustration indicated that it was only _partially_ on purpose.

As they both walked inside, they saw Toothless curled on the floor, rubbing the back of his head.

"I hurt head," he moaned.

"I hurt _my_ head," Valka automatically corrected without even looking up from the child.

"I hurt my head," Toothless repeated just as piteously as the first time.

"Perfect!" Valka crowed. "You're a blur for how fast you're improving. And your head is fine. Barely bumped the wall."

Astrid stared at the young man. "Toothless?"

Toothless sat upright and looked at Astrid with a goofy smile. "Zealot!" He then grabbed one end of the rope and held it out. "Play!"

Astrid stared blankly, but Valka handed her baby over and sat down to pick up the other end of the rope.

"Yes!" Toothless exclaimed as he started tugging with all his might.

"What…" Astrid slowly drawled out.

"I've been working with him to practice speaking, but he's most excited about being able to grab things," Valka grunted as she pulled back against Toothless. "And with how quick he'd jump at the chance to fight someone…"

Astrid chuckled. Toothless thrashed the rope back and forth in a parody of how he'd thrash his prey after catching it in his maw, but Valka used that opportunity of his loosened grip to yank the rope free.

"OW!" Toothless yelped as he patted his hand on the floor. "Rope hurt hand!"

"It's called rope burn," Valka said. "For a better grip, wrap the rope around your wrist, then double back through your fingers again." She demonstrated with her end of the rope. Toothless grinned as he seized his end and clumsily attempted the same, tongue sticking out in concentration. After much grunting and growling - and coughing at the sore throat that produced - he finally got it figured out.

"Play!"

He tugged the rope back and Valka grunted, "You're stronger than you look, Hiccup. Err, Toothless. Well, you know what I mean."

Astrid knew exactly what she meant. A fishbone Hiccup was, but the time he spent in the forge had developed his core strength so he could handle the heavy lifting if he held things close to his stomach. As flimsy as he appeared outwardly, he actually managed to carry Astrid to their bed on their wedding night, much to her astonishment. He couldn't remove his prosthetic from his leg fast enough with the strain that little stunt put on his stump.

Hiccup purred at the compliment, yelped in surprise at himself, then purred again experimentally.

"Aww, that's so adorable, Toothless, playing tug of war like that," Astrid said tauntingly. "We could stick you with the children and you'd fit _right_ in."

Toothless stopped and looked up at her. His grip on the rope loosened, but Valka mercifully didn't take advantage of the distraction. He let go, worked his way to his feet, and took an unsteady step to stand right in front of Astrid, practically nose-to-nose. Astrid shifted uneasily, instinctively placing herself between him and her child, but she made herself meet his stare.

For a tense moment, nobody moved and the air seemed frozen with tension. Then Toothless grinned. "You funny, Zealot."

While somehow maintaining an air of regal haughtiness that a cat would display while showing off its latest catch, he crouched down, fell on his butt, picked up the rope, stood up, walked over to Hiccup, held out the rope, and said, "Play?" Hiccup held out a paw in uncertainty, but Toothless rolled his eyes and said, "Not like that. Bite!"

Astrid stared wordlessly as the two pulled against each other, equally matching each other's efforts even though one was so much stronger.

Valka put an arm over Astrid's shoulders and asked, "What's wrong, dear?"

Astrid shook her head. "He's definitely Toothless." It irked her just how unhinged she felt as Toothless stared through her as if he decided that it would be beneath him to even respond to her little jab. She had said that mainly out of frustration at what happened to her husband, but the way he looked down at her – even though he was hardly any taller – made her suddenly feel very primitive and ridiculous for having said that.

It was a very Toothless response whenever someone said something disparaging about him or his rider. He would pad right up to that person, heedless of their sneer or the weapon they were brandishing, and stare at him as if curiously inspecting an interesting bug, wordlessly challenging him to say it again. He would never back down or break eye contact, and the stare-down invariably ended with either the offender backing away awkwardly or a fight that Hiccup would rush in to prevent.

As suddenly as it began, the game of tug-of-war ended with both dragon and rider giving a satisfied huff. Hiccup dropped the rope and Toothless fascinated himself by holding it in both hands, slowly moving it through the air, slithering it over an arm or loosely around his neck, endlessly excited about his mastery over it.

"Good!" Toothless said as he clapped his hands together. He then jumped in surprise at his own gesture, fell to the ground, and picked himself up again. He experimentally clapped again, very slowly at first, then harder, then hard enough to make noise.

"I like!" he said. "Hurt, but like."

"You're learning fast," Valka praised. "We'll want to continue working on speaking, but I can already tell you're more confident on your feet and with your hands."

"Your dragon is showing you up," Astrid said in good humor as she elbowed Hiccup's shoulder.

Hiccup whined. _{I'm just afraid to hurt somebody or damage something. I know you jest, but I could accidentally do something for which I would never forgive myself. That time I almost snapped at you really got me thinking.}_

At that, Astrid leaned back and turned to place her body between the baby and Hiccup, who flopped down on his belly with a groan.

"Know how feel," Toothless said. "I hurt Firefly. Not try. We only play. He hit me, I hit him. He jump on me... Land-striders…" he drifted off, then clapped with a big grin on his face, "squish!" His face fell into a look of deep contemplation. "Rrrrr, squish… squish…" He clapped his hands again. "Squishy, yes! Learn how not squish Firefly."

Astrid bridled at that. "Excuse me, Mr. Night Fury, I'll have you know–"

Valka waved her off. "Toothless has a good point. We're fortunate that Hiccup has decided to be so cautious. Normally, an errant kick would result in nothing of note, and he could never accidentally burn this house down with a single sneeze, but as a dragon…" she drifted off, the implication obvious.

Hiccup's nostrils twitched and a look of horror crossed his face.

"Yes," Toothless said. "Yes, yes, and yes. Firefly, we go. Learn walk. Run. Fly. Not hurt Zealot. Then you teach me draw!"

With that, ignoring Astrid's heated retort, Toothless walked to the door, and with an expression reminiscent of a man who just won his first Thawfest competition, lifted the latch, pushed the door open, and stepped out into the sunshine… and then tumbled down the two steps to the ground.

"Oof! I hurt my head!"

########

* * *

########

Toothless ran like he had never run before - on two legs. Well, one-and-a-half legs, technically. He was starting to get a feel for the balance of bipedal movement; having no tail for balance simply felt strange. Still, even though his left leg was not entirely whole, the design of the prosthetic to allow him to run instead of hobble spoke of Firefly's genius.

In his breathless rush, he could tell that the land-striders nearby were wondering why he was running as fast as he could. However, he was sure that the sight of a certain fuming mad Night Fury hot on his heels was explanation enough. Now, as to why said Night Fury was mad, well, a certain dragon-turned-land-strider may have whacked his sensitive nose with a stick, and that may have stung, and it may have been entirely on purpose.

It all started in harmless innocence. Toothless had picked up a stick, reveling in the wonders of having opposable thumbs and the sensation of feeling every little ripple of its texture. He could move it up and down, in and out, rotate any way he wanted, it was all so fascinating! Then, he imagined – another wonderous novelty – that the stick was a sword.

Astrid was amused by his random thrashing with the stick, so she called out some pointers on how to properly hold and swing it. Once Toothless was able to do so without falling on his face, he came up with a foolproof idea to help Firefly overcome his crippling concern of hurting someone, and that idea required some aggressive stick-to-nose contact to "encourage" him to play.

It would have stung for sure, but it didn't do any actual harm, and Firefly needed to practice running as a dragon. Despite the many advantages that came with a tail for balance, a low frame that moved with stability on four legs, and claws for traction, Firefly was having less success than Toothless at running, and tripped over a wing. Again.

"Careful!" Toothless barked out. "Hurt wing bad no fly. No think when run. Think bad!"

He knew his words were a jumbled mess, but he also knew his rider – err, his dragon – would hear the projected thoughts and understand the meaning. Land-striders could be very clever creatures, but they had a habit of overthinking everything and simply had a hard time accepting things at face value. Sometimes, it worked to Toothless' advantage, like when two land-striders would argue about who had rights to eat a certain turkey leg, and Toothless would do a good deed by removing the source of contention.

This was Firefly's challenge too as he still needed to learn to not think about his body to move around in it. Thinking inhibited the instincts he had, and the instincts were what he needed to allow to take over.

As Firefly was scrambling back to his paws, Toothless whacked him in the nose again and fled from the snarls. The chase resumed with gusto, and after the fifth barrel to be knocked over by a clumsy dragon began to roll down the hill, Toothless suspected that running through the village may not have been the most considerate thing to do.

The chase ended when he felt some undesirable shift where his prosthetic foot met his leg, sending him tumbling to the ground. When a shadow fell over him, instincts tucked his arms and legs in to curl up into a ball. Firefly landed over Toothless, legs straddling him, and a wet tongue lapped at his head.

The dragon suddenly froze. _{Are you hurt, Toothless?}_

Toothless grinned. "Not hurt. Good, Firefly. You not think so legs move good. Use wings good this time, when you…" he paused, scrabbling for the right word.

_{Pounce?}_

"Ah, yes! Good wings pounce. Good play!"

_{You were right, Toothless. Simply wanting to do something is enough and anything more is a hindrance, but I surprised myself when I licked you. That's not something I do.}_

"You dragon," Toothless said; he thought that should have been very obvious by now. "Dragons lick show love clean mark smell."

Both dragon and rider yelped in surprise when Astrid said, "Yeah, well, lick _me_ and there _will_ be trouble." They hadn't realized that their winding chase through the village had looped right back to where it started. They turned to give a coy grin at her and the child she held.

All eyes turned towards the approaching form of a rather ungainly land-strider walking up the hill, singing, "Oh I've got my ax, and I've got my mace, and I love my wife with the ugly face. I'm a Viking through and through!"

Firefly rolled his eyes at the horrendous singing and Toothless rolled around on the ground, pawing at his ears. It was the blacksmith, Firefly's mentor, named Sunset, or Gobber as the land-striders called him. True to his name – the meaningful one that his dragon gave him – he had a knack for encouraging others to forget about their woes of the day and plan for the next… except for when he felt like singing.

"Please tell me you did not come here to serenade us with songs, Gobber," Astrid said.

"Auck!" Gobber spat as he idly twisted the hook on his left arm with the remaining good hand on his right. "It ain't _that_ bad, lassie." He turned to the dragon and rider. "That was actually a test ta see which of ya is Hiccup and Toothless. Still hard ta believe, but I know there ain't nobody who has such an over-the-top melodramatic reaction to ma' singin' as Toothless."

_He sang that all the way to the demonic queen's nest!_ Toothless thought to himself. _Again and again and again..._

Firefly stood and stared at Gobber, who stared back at him. "Hiccup? That really you?"

He couldn't hold himself back and lunged to hug his mentor. Toothless found great amusement at the sight of the land-strider trying to keep his balance while the dragon leaned up against him. He couldn't hold in a laugh when Gobber's peg leg slipped on the stone and they both crashed to the ground.

"Git off me, ya dirty sod," Gobber groused as they both got up again. "But it _is_ good ta see ya back safe and whole, even if yer…" he drifted off and gestured vaguely to the dragon's body.

Firefly deadpanned at Gobber.

Gobber chuckled. "But by Thor's beard, I've always told ya ta put on some more weight, but ya never were one ta dream small!"

"It's no laughing matter," Astrid said tersely. "How would _you_ like it if the man you loved suddenly turned into a dragon?" She suddenly stooped her shoulders a little. "Oh, ummm, not the best analogy."

Gobber gave her a sly grin. "Lassie, tha's a bucket 'o worms ya don't wanna stick yer hand into." At the unamused looks from everyone, he said, "Ah, nevermind. There's a reason I trudged up this hill. The council got together and, well…" he nervously drummed his fingers on his hook. "Ya see, yer a dragon…"

"Wow!" Toothless crowed sarcastically. "Good land-strider! Can say what eyes see! What more tricks you do? Sit, I give fish."

Gobber stared in shock at Toothless. "And Toothless… can talk?"

"Yes. No like. Dragons think, not speak. Land-striders speak, not think." He flicked a hand to indicate the obviousness of that statement, then once again became fascinated with the flexibility of his wrist. "Oh! Idea!" he gleefully shouted as he picked up a stick and threw it. "Fetch!"

"Uhhhh… yes…" Gobber drawled out.

"Back to business," Astrid said. "You said the council discussed what to do now that Hiccup is a dragon?"

Gobber straightened and said, "Yes. Ya see, Hiccup, yer our chief… but yer a dragon… and it ain't proper ta have our tribe led by a dragon."

"That… no like," Toothless said. "That… that…"

_{Stupid?}_

"Yes!" He looked at Gobber. "Stupid! That stupid. Much stupid. You stupid. They stupid."

The dragon groaned. _{That's not helping.}_

Gobber crossed his arms. "Now hold on just a moment, Hiccup– Err, I mean, Toothless…"

"Yes, me still Toothless. He still Firefly. You no make sense."

The blacksmith waved him off. "Listen, nothing's been set in stone yet, but if unanimous, the council can appoint a new chief if the current one is… unfit for duty."

"Now wait just a moment!" Astrid snapped. "You admitted yourself that Hiccup is whole, in _your own words_. How can you say…"

She drifted off as Gobber raised his good hand. "Now don't kill the messenger. I'm on yer side, bu' there's more ta the council than jus' me, and we need ta get the story straight from the horse' mouth. Err, the dragon's mouth." He sighed. "There is no way this ain't gonna be very awkward."

Nobody said anything. There was a lot of staring and little else.

Astrid finally broke the silence. "The council wants to hear his story, but you can't hear him, nor can Spitelout, Ack, or Phlegma. Gothi's a dragon whisperer, but she's a mute. Since I can hear Hiccup, I'll be his voice.

"But this is a meetin' wi' just the chief an' the rest o' the council," Gobber explained.

"And as the chief's wife, it is my right to sit with my husband."

"Yeah, well, do the gods want a woman ta be the wife of a dragon?"

Astrid hastily thrust her child into the arms of Toothless, who froze on the spot. She brandished her ax and Gobber took an uncertain step back, not out of fear for his life but out of surprise at the fire in her eyes.

Through grinding teeth, she said, "I think I misunderstood you. I _thought_ I heard you suggest something that would cause us _both_ to feel regret, but I've known you too long to expect that."

Firefly nuzzled her, and through the contact that Toothless shared, he could feel the waves of calming reassurance he was projecting to her.

Astrid huffed. "Tonight, then. And whether this is a peaceful meeting or a blood bath will depend on how people treat me and _my husband_."

She glared at Gobber, whose face returned to his normal disinterested half-scowl. With an air of indifference that even Toothless could tell was feigned, the blacksmith shrugged.

"Before or after nattmal?" Astrid asked.

"Mid-afternoon," Gobber said, "Back o' the Great Hall. We'll give ourselves a couple hours an' be done when everyone starts filin' in ta eat, keep it hush-hush."

Astrid exchanged a look with the dragon. "Fine."

Stormfly glided in to land and nuzzled Astrid who responded with a vigorous rub on the snout.

Gobber looked at the shield-maiden and her dragon, who were ignoring him, then at Firefly and Toothless, who were also awkwardly avoiding eye contact, and groused, "Knew this'd be awkward. Maybe this is all some strange dream and I'll wake up anytime."

"Ha!" Astrid snorted, eyes only for her dragon. "Maybe we can all just pretend nothing has happened and everything is as normal as can be."

Stormfly started to bob her head and flutter her wings at Firefly, then started snapping at him. It was a common ploy to provoke another dragon into some play-fighting, and she knew that Firefly needed more practice moving around in his body. Besides, the Night Fury and Nadder always enjoyed fighting each other.

Stormfly feigned an aggressive lunge, teeth bared, and the Night Fury responded by rolling onto his back to submit. She squawked indignantly at the blatant refusal to fight back and stomped in frustration. Toothless had to show his Firefly how it was done, so he charged at her, catching her leg with his shoulder to knock her down.

He ended up with his arms wrapped around her leg in a very awkward hug as she stared down at him with a confused chirp.

"Ya let me know how tha' goes, lassie," Gobber said with a chuckle as he turned and started walking back down the hill.


	5. Stand-In

**A/N:  
**I couldn't resist the temptation to add a 4th wall breaking in this chapter. I'll give you a single word as a clue: prepositions. Thank you Deadly-Bagel for being my beta buddy.

7sky - sorry I forgot to acknowledge you for commenting in the last chapter. Thanks for dropping a line, and if you liked the "LET ME HUG YOUR LEG!" bit, I think you'll enjoy some scenes in the next few chapters.

Dragonrider's Fury, I know exactly what you mean. Toothless with fangs and fire is fun, but Toothless with a devious imagination and snark can be… eventful. I was just asking my beta if he felt conflicted about how he's enjoying Toothless' antics as he does "boring human stuff", but he rebutted with my own words about how Toothless and Hiccup are a single unit in their eyes so there's no net change here. Touché.

* * *

**Stand-In**

The leaves had grown and fallen from the trees six times – or it had been six years, as the land-striders would say – since Toothless met Firefly and started living among his kind. In those years, he had come to learn a lot about these creatures. While there were many similarities, such as pride and stubbornness beyond any reasonable constraint for most individuals, there were many differences too, such as how they looked at one another.

Firefly was named by Toothless, not for his appearance but because of the spark of encouragement he would bring to the darkest situation. Zealot had a fiery temperament, but she was always ready to fight for what she believed was right. Cougar was named such by his dragon, Hookfang, because he was arrogant and boastful, though he would usually whine and mewl rather than roar. Butterfly was not physically frail, but she would taunt others in the most light and delicate way that would only make her more endearing, and any dragon would consider it a good omen for her to perch on them. Benevolent had a kind and gentle nature, and all he ever wanted to do was read old books, meditate on a grassy hill, and lend a helping hand.

Land-striders, on the other wing – hand, whatever – looked on the outward appearance. Hiccup was born early and small. Astrid's name indicated her strength and beauty. Snotlout was obnoxious and aggressive; good on the land-striders for picking a meaningful name, but if he was named before he could even walk, did they predict the future or did they make him fit his name? Tofa was named for the peace of Thor, who was one of those invisible higher powers Land-striders would call out to whenever they stubbed a toe. Fishlegs… well, he wasn't a fish, and fish didn't have legs…

Land-striders could be very silly creatures.

Toothless was counting on this tendency for land-striders to look on the outward appearance as he walked up to one who had a bucket on his head, named Bucket, and stared at him. The look in Bucket's eyes suggested that he wasn't entirely "there", so Toothless continued to stare. By the time Bucket started to fidget, Toothless knew he had his attention.

"I go Great Hall," Toothless said. "Please follow."

With that, he turned and moved on to the next land-strider, smiling at himself for having used his new word, "please". It was even more effective than baring his teeth back when he was a dragon. It was like saying, "Obey or I'll rip out your throat," but it made them like him instead of fear him.

Firefly pressed his snout into Toothless' hand. _{What are you doing? We're supposed to go alone.}_

The dragon-turned-human shrugged. "They want. They enemy. What enemy want not good, yes? They not even say 'please'."

_{They're not your enemy. We're all in this together.}_

Toothless snorted at that. "They doubt that you you, and me me. They challenge you alpha. Can have enemy from within flock. Be always wary. Enemy want alone, give not alone."

Firefly grumbled at that but continued to walk by his side, which he was doing with much more fluidity. The entire day had been spent learning how to walk and talk so they could move about more gracefully and interact with others less awkwardly. Toothless was especially fascinated by his newfound ability to throw things. Astrid had introduced him to the art of throwing sharp little fangs – knives – into a tree. It was the best thing _ever_ no matter how many times he cut his thin, scaleless flesh!

"Hiccup's right," Astrid said to Toothless. Her child was cradled in a clever thing that the land-striders called a sling, granting her a free hand to rest on Firefly's head so that she could hear him. "We all respect the council for a good reason. If they want to keep this under wraps, why should we go against that without _at least_ discussing it with them first."

"I no like they," Toothless said. "They no… rrrr… trust. They command but no understand."

Astrid said, "You can't seriously suggest that we should go against our elders and chosen leaders?"

Toothless extended an arm over the dragon's snout and held out a hand, a gesture he had recently learned to introduce himself to others. "Hi. I Toothless. I kill demonic queen and bad great sea dragon."

Astrid's response was to give a sideways stare at Toothless' cheeky grin. "So, you're just going along with this, Hiccup?"

They both shrugged.

_{I think it is the sort of thing I would do if I was myself. Then again, I don't know what I would do because that would require the sort of imagination I currently lack. By the way, did you know that your scent changes when you're upset?}_

Astrid huffed at that last bit.

"Firefly dragon," Toothless said slowly, thoughtfully, as his dragon helped him organize the words to help express himself. "Dragons think better than land-striders, but not imagine. I land-strider, I imagine. I not think as good… as clearly as dragon. I see what is not, shot in dark as you land-striders say, but almost all my shots are in dark." He looked at Astrid over the scaly head. "Nothing has changed."

"How can you say that when _everything's_ changed?" Astrid hissed.

Toothless patted his dragon's head – a funny thought he imagined he would never tire of chuckling at – and said, "Stormfly and Astrid are two. Hookfang and Snotlout are two. Meatlug and Fishlegs are two. Dragon and rider separate. Can have one without other. Firefly and Toothless are one, not two. We both broken, inside and out, but good as one. Was one. Still one. Same one."

He knew that his Firefly was an entirely different land-strider when he had some black-scaled muscle at his disposal. With his dragon, there were so many things he could do that he couldn't otherwise, so many fights to prevent or end in his peaceful Firefly way. Also, Toothless certainly knew what he was like before he met Firefly. There was a reason that whenever he was forcefully separated from his rider everyone around him saw only the embodiment of fury.

Astrid huffed at his statement. "It's not the same. I want to hold my husband's hand, but I can't. When I want to hug and kiss him when we've a moment to ourselves…" She drifted off, gritting her teeth.

Toothless held out his arms. "You can hug kiss me if make you feel better."

Astrid twitched her right arm and Toothless jumped back with a yelp. When he dared to walk by Firefly and rest a hand on his neck again, he could feel the reassurances the land-strider-turned-dragon was pouring out for his mate. _{My love for you and our child is no less than if I was in my own body. We will find a way to make things right again. We always have, and we always will.}_

Astrid sighed.

Firefly gave a very toothy smirk. _{And if anybody gives you any trouble, I'll bite them.}_

She couldn't hold back a smile at that. "Thanks, Babe." She cleared her throat and said, "I still don't like going against the council's wishes, but I'll…" she huffed. "I'll allow it. I guess the take-home here is that nothing has been lost between you two?"

_{We are entirely convinced that no aspect of myself or Toothless has been lost, only moved. However, Toothless is now in a better position to plan and make decisions, but we still think and decide and act together, same as always, at least when it comes to my duties as chief.}_

Toothless approached another group of land-striders. "I go Great Hall. Please follow."

Instead of falling in behind, one of them just frowned at him. "If there's an announcement for us all, why not just sound the horn?" He then blinked as he realized something. "Wait a moment, you're… Toothless… right?"

Toothless' face lit up. "Ah, horn! Yes, forget horn. Haha! I forget! Never as dragon. Yes, you blow horn. Call all to Great Hall. All follow."

The land-strider moved off towards the large, iron, dragon-shaped horn that wrapped around a stone pedestal. However, after a few paces, he slowed and turned around to say, "Wait a moment. I ain't takin' no orders from a dragon."

Toothless gave him a flat stare. "Do I _look_ like a dragon?"

The land-strider scratched his head and squinted. "Uhhh… No… Ummm…" he squirmed under the unflinching gaze. "Sorry, chief…?" He turned and started jogging for the horn, actively avoiding any eye contact with the source of his confusion.

_{Toothless, was that really necessary?}_

Toothless completely lost his composure and collapsed into Firefly's neck, laughing and gasping for air. "What's so funny?" Astrid asked when he finally caught his breath.

"I imagine!" Toothless said excitedly. "I say what not so. I… I… deceive! Dragons not imagine. Dragons not lie. Not able." He started rolling around on the ground in another fit of laughter.

Astrid picked him up, set him on his feet, and gave a rough shove forward. "Alright, enough of that. Let's just go before you cause more trouble. I'm of the same mind to keep everyone in the loop, but don't push your luck, Mister."

Toothless walked onward, still giggling spasmodically. Astrid glared at him and his mouth pulled itself into a wide grin, "I be good."

Her glaring intensified.

"I _try_ be good."

They approached the steps to the Great Hall and Astrid's face fell as she stared up them. Normally, she was the exemplar of endurance, but her condition left her otherwise. Riding a Night Fury who was not yet entirely comfortable in his body while cradling a child in her arms wouldn't be a safe option on the stone steps as one stumble could be catastrophic.

Just then, Stormfly sprinted in, ground to a halt, nuzzled her rider, and lowered her belly to the ground with a supportive wing held out.

"Thanks, girl." Astrid cooed at her dragon as she slid onto her back, then raised an eyebrow at Firefly. "And I bet I owe you thanks too for calling her over in that silent telepathic way."

She then looked around and noticed that every other dragon on the island was joining the crowd following them. "Why are they…" she started to ask.

Her eyes landed on Toothless. "This is your doing."

It was not a question.

Toothless gave an innocent smile and patted his dragon's snout. "Firefly helped."

########

* * *

########

The darkness assaulted Toothless' little eyes as he stepped through the massive doors into the Great Hall. Well, it wasn't dark, but his eyes were lethargic to adapt.

He walked towards the back where the land-strider betas – councilors – were already sitting in muted conversation. Though he had already interacted with them several times, Astrid named them off: Gothi, Gobber, Spitelout, Phlegma, Ack, and Hoark. Almost immediately, he forgot a few of their names.

As his eyes adjusted and he drew nearer, he could see their expressions fall in varying degrees of annoyance and dismay at the sight of hundreds of land-striders and dragons following him in. Raven – or Gothi as the Land-striders called her – simply rolled her eyes.

"Ya s'posed to come alone," Gobber said in annoyance as he eyed the entire village filing in.

Astrid nudged Toothless to a chair, which would have been his first time sitting on such a thing as a land-strider, but he defiantly stood and turned to the crowd behind him. "You hear that? They no want you know…" he paused. "No… know… no… know…" he looked at his Firefly. "Is that right?"

_{Words can be strange, but you spoke correctly for the most part. Sometimes, different words can sound the same but mean very different things.}_

Toothless snorted. "If words use sound, then why make different words sound same? Silly!" He huffed and turned back to the council. "Well, send them off." The looks he received in return were satisfactorily annoyed.

"Is it true?" someone from the crowd behind him asked. Another shouted out, "Yeah, has our chief really turned into a dragon?"

"That's why we called you here," said Hailstorm – or "Spitelout" as Astrid whispered into his ear. "We want to know what exactly happened." He gave an accusing glare. "We _were_ planning to inform everyone in an orderly manner once we have a solid grasp of the situation, but I suppose the fish will have to catch themselves, our homes will have to repair themselves, and the fields will have to plow themselves, thanks to you."

Toothless smiled innocently back at him.

"Let's just start with this," said the female who wasn't Gothi, "Gobber told us what he's learned, but as silly and strange as this situation feels, I'd ask you to tell us yourself. Are you really Toothless, the Night Fury?"

Toothless thought about that for a moment and said, "Yes no." At a raised eyebrow, he clarified, "I am Toothless, yes. I am not dragon. Was dragon. Now land-strider. No like. Well, that not fair. You land-striders squishy, but throwing things fun. And rope fun. Tie Firefly when sleep. No tell him. Hrrr, need learn how tie rope." He then realized his error and turned to see an unamused look on his dragon's face.

"Ain't right hearing a dragon speak like that," someone muttered behind him.

"Ya mean in that pinched-nose nasally voice, or with words in general?"

"Yes."

Firefly growled softly at that and Toothless chortled.

The female beta – counselor – then turned to Firefly. "And you're really Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, somehow in your dragon's body?"

Firefly burbled in a laughably terrible attempt to imitate land-strider speech. _{Why is she asking me when she's not a dragon whisperer?}_

"Firefly says yes," Toothless offered. "And he Firefly, not Hiccup. No like silly name."

"Says the dragon whose name is a comical misnomer," said a land-strider with a gravelly voice who was digging a finger into his ear – or "Ack" as Astrid whispered to him.

Toothless crossed his arms and said, "I like. It works. Besides, you land-striders call demonic queen Red Death. Nothing red about her!"

"The little nubs on its side were red…" Gobber said defensively. "And its fire!"

_{Well, technically, the fire was more blue and orange and yellow. If I was awake at the time to correct them, I would have at least suggested we name it Green Death for the color of its scales instead.}_

"Let's stick to business," Spitelout said impatiently. "It seems we're all agreed that Hiccup's soul has somehow been moved over to his dragon's body, and his dragon's soul has been moved to Hiccup's body." He scratched his chin in thought. "Hmm, not sure dragons have a soul in the _first_ place. Never heard of dragons drinking mead in Valhalla."

Toothless growled at that, though it sent him into a fit of coughing. "Valka say Firefly have soul of dragon. If soul of dragon, then dragon have soul." He then blinked. "What is soul?"

Firefly groaned. Astrid whispered, "Later. They accept that you're Toothless and he is Hiccup. We're all on the same page."

"Ah, page, that thing Firefly draw on?" Toothless asked. "I want learn draw. Look fun."

"_Back on topic_," Spitlout ground out, "is the matter of Hiccup as our chief. Now that he's a dragon, well…" At the miffed faces on both dragon and rider, he held up placating hands and said, "Our goal tonight is to better understand the situation by hearing the details straight from the horse's mouth. Or the dragon's mouth, I suppose…"

"Which none o' us can hear," Gobber tossed in. "Except Gothi, but she's mute, and there's no way my shin can stand up ta her reprimands whenever I make a little mistake in interpreting her chicken scratch." Gothi shook her staff threateningly and Gobber flinched.

"We discussed this already," Astrid said, looking up from the child in her arms. "Toothless can hear Hiccup, but we anticipated that you'd rather hear from someone you can more readily identify with, so I can be his voice. After all, aside from being a dragon whisperer, I'm also his wife and have a certain degree of authority to represent him."

"Well, about that whole wife thing…" Spitelout started to say, but he drifted off when Astrid stood up, lifted her ax from its belt loop with her free hand, and dropped it to clatter on the large table in front of Spitelout.

Toothless chuffed, at least to the limited degree he could as a land-strider. He wholeheartedly approved her response as he would have been kneading his claws through the offender's guts were he still a dragon. Whenever one dragon contested another's mate, the result was invariably a dead or fleeing dragon. Astrid was the most dragon-like of all the land-striders, and even in her weakened state, even though Toothless knew so little about land-strider gestures, he could tell that she had basically threatened Spitelout's life.

One other thing he approved of, though it caught him by surprise, was the sound of claws gouging the table. He looked over to see his Firefly crouched over the ax, body tense, growling warningly. Firefly then realized what he was doing and leaned back as if afraid of his own reaction to this challenge over his mate.

"Think long and hard about how you want to finish that sentence," Astrid ground out in a voice that was quiet and dripping with danger.

Spitelout was on his feet, eyes flicking between Firefly and the ax, fingers wrapped around the handle of his sword, but it was still sheathed. "All I'm saying is that–" Gothi cut him off by tapping his shoulder with her staff. Gesturing to the child Astrid carried, he said, "And then there's the matter of heirdom–"

WHACK!

Gothi's staff cut him off quite a bit more forcefully this time.

Gobber roughly shoved his bulk in front of Spitelout and gave a bored look at Firefly. "Down, boy," he said. Firefly backed up off the table. "Nobody ain't makin' no claims right now, and nobody's issuin' any challenges. We're here ta learn what we can. Let's focus on that. Fer starters, I gotta know, I've seen Toothless clean himself by licking himself, ya know, all over. Have ya done that yet, Hiccup? What's it like?"

"Gobber!" Astrid scolded, but try as she might, she couldn't entirely hide her smile. What Toothless suspected to be a purpose-driven attempt to break the tension worked and the entire atmosphere relaxed. Gobber's dragon named him Sunset for a reason.

"Can ya blame me fer bein' curious?" Gobber asked with a shrug. "If I was _that_ flexible–"

Gothi shook her staff threateningly again and Gobber sat down with a meek, "Shutting up."

Before anyone could resume arguing, Astrid spoke over the chuckles. "I'll tell you what Hiccup showed me, and I'll be his voice for any questions you have."

Toothless listened as she spoke in detail about the cave and the stone that caused this change, lost in thought about the particularities of land-strider speech. He was trying to feel out the words between the words that described the words she was using to describe a thought. He then reaffirmed his stance about how silly land-strider speech was. The only thing even more silly than speaking to communicate, in his eyes, was writing, and he knew that some land-striders spent inordinate amounts of time writing entire sagas in detail. He concluded that such people must have something massively wrong with their brains.

Finally, Astrid finished telling the whole story, which was a long ordeal. Often, the councilors had interrupted to ask for further details on this or that, and Astrid would instantly receive a response from her mate to tell them.

If everyone was a dragon who could simply hear the projected thoughts, this would have been done and over with literally in the blink of an eye. Every little detail about every little moment would have been laid out in full, and nobody would have to ask what was the color of the shiny stone or how much writing was on the walls or what it felt like to be a dragon. Firefly had already explained to the dragons what it was like to be a land-strider, and once he realized that he didn't have to force himself to slow down, he amazed himself with how thoroughly and how quickly his thoughts flowed.

"So…" Gobber drawled out, talking to Firefly, "you was yerself until ya touched this gemstone, and then yer soul moved t'yer dragon's body. We've already established that touchin' it again had no effect. Whatever power it held, well, I guess that bucket's been emptied. Hmmm…" He scratched his chin in thought with his one good hand. "I'd like to take a look at this stone. Ya brought it back with ya, right?"

Firefly shrugged his wings and all eyes turned to Toothless. "I not bring stone. Was busy learning how to walk and pee. Not good to try do both at same time. How you land-striders survive, I not know." He looked at Firefly. "Why no you think to bring stone?"

_{I'm a dragon.}_

"Oh, yes." He was discovering a talent for this forgetting business.

Ack stirred his large frame and mused, "So there is some hope that this problem can be rectified, but for now, we still need to figure out how to manage the tribe. A strong people need strong leadership, even in times of turmoil. _Especially_ in times of turmoil. We can get this gemstone and see if we can somehow refill the bucket, so to speak, and if we run into a dead end, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. For now, one of us can act as the chief's temporary stand-in. Not me, of course, I'm up to my ears with work at the docks."

Spitelout nodded in agreement. "Aye, a short-term solution could work for the short term, but sharp minds plan ahead." When nobody said anything, he said, "I know what you're thinking, and no, this is not some sly attempt to slip my son into chiefdom. I know where he belongs and it's not spending all day managing food stores and settling arguments about who's at fault for a broken fence and hoofprints in a garden. All I'm saying is that we cannot have a dragon as our chief."

"Why not?" Toothless demanded. "Firefly and I always together. Never apart. Always think together. Talk together on all things." Well, technically it wasn't talking… "Nothing has changed."

"_Everything_ has changed!" Spitelout shouted.

Toothless leaned against the table and made a show of casually inspecting his claws – fingernails, whatever – and said, "Firefly did alpha things with me. Firefly still do alpha things with me."

"But it's different in so many ways!"

Toothless rolled his eyes. "Such as…?"

Spitelout sputtered and finally said, "He's a dragon!"

Silence fell over everyone. The air felt charged.

Toothless stood upright and barked a name with sound and mind, "Kingstail!"

Spitelout's Nadder jumped up, disrupted no less than a hundred land-striders as he glided over, and thumped down in front of Toothless, head briefly tilted up to expose his neck in a gesture of respect to his alpha.

"You hear what rider say?" Toothless asked the dragon. "He think dragons beneath land-striders. We change our thinking to see land-striders as equals, but he not do same. He think Firefly not alpha because he dragon now. What you think of that?"

The Nadder tilted his head as he regarded his rider. Toothless knew that Nadders were very haughty, and the only way a land-strider could befriend them was to feed their vanity. Battle drew Kingstail and Spitelout together, but once he developed the drive to maintain such a friendship, he turned into an entirely new land-strider with how he treated the dragons. Still, he had his rough spots and Kingstail had ways of coercing his rider to change his thinking,

"Don't listen to him," Spitelout pleaded with his dragon. "It's not like that. I was only–"

That was as far as he got before the dragon spun around, hopped and flew over the crowd, and ran out the open doors.

"Kingstail!" Spitelout called after him. "Kingstail, stop acting silly, ya sparky lizard!"

He shoved his way through the crowd to chase after his dragon, and Toothless smiled at the sight. Yet another training session had begun. He turned around to see the unimpressed and annoyed councilors.

"So that's how it's gonna be?" Gobber asked. "Bow down ta the will of the great Toothless or ya tell our dragons to vamoose?"

Toothless shrugged. "No, but I not like him. Kingstail not go far. Only train rider to show respect."

Firefly groaned at that and grabbed his rider with toothless gums to drag him to sit in a chair. _{This is not the way to do things and you know it. You're thinking about you and me only, but they are thinking about everyone here.}_

Toothless rolled his eyes at that. _Firefly being Firefly again._ "That why they wrong and I right!"

"Hiccup says he will not stand in the way of your decision," Astrid said to the council. "With how little we all know of what caused this change or how to reverse it, the temporary fix Ack suggested sounds prudent for the moment."

"Somehow, I doubt Hiccup said _all_ of that," Gobber said, then laughed at the shocked look from Astrid. "Lass, I been workin' with the lad long before ya stopped ignorin' him." She opened her mouth to retort but no words came out, causing Gobber to chuckle even louder. "But I do agree with ya. The chief can select anyon' from the council ta act as his stand-in fer a while. Stoick's had ta do that every time Hiccup goes off an' almost gets himself killed.

"In other words, about twice a month," Ack groused

Phelgma asked, "But if we're not all agreed that Hiccup is still our chief, should he pick which of us will act as his stand-in?"

Gobber waved it off. "It takes a unanimous vote ta uproot the chief, and ya ain't got mine, not while there's still any hope o' changin' him back, at least. Besides, any of us can fill the role; that's why we're on the council."

He turned to Firefly. "So, Hiccup, who d'ya want to be yer stand-in? Ye'd wanna pick someone ya didn't particularly like as it's no fun at all, someone with spare time ta listen to the bellyachin' of everyone with a grudge, someone who isn't already drownin' in work. Maybe someone who just dotes over herbs and oils all day long and is old and wise–" WHACK! "Ow! Or maybe ya could pick someone who can afford ta take a break from fellin' trees and haulin' lumber…" he faded under Phelgma's fierce glare.

Hiccup nudged Gobber's shoulder. Gobber sighed.

"So yer pickin the one who has ta also watch over the most clumsy apprentice I've ever had in me blacksmith?"

Fishlegs shouted from the crowd, "You said I was the _second_ most clumsy apprentice you've ever had." His eyes widened and he covered his mouth. "I probably shouldn't have said that out loud."

Several land-stiders chuckled at that and Firefly growled softly.

"I'll get ya fer this, ya cheeky bugger," Gobber groused. Speaking louder, he said, "A'ight, y'all can sharpen yer own hoes an' axes an' pull Fishy's smithin' pliers outta the forge."

"It could have happened to anybody!" Fishlegs said.

Ignoring him, Gobber continued, "Gothi, Phlegma, make yer vote on my actin' as," he sighed in defeat, "the chief's stand-in."

Both of them nodded enthusiastically.

"Fine. Ya owe me fer this, Hiccup. Yer gonna go get that gemstone tomorrow, right?"

Firefly nodded.

"Good. And dun' ferget ta copy whatever's written on the walls." He stared at Firefly and realized the dragon couldn't draw. "I'm sure Fishlegs would love ta join ya. He'd probably have a field day with that." He quietly added, "That way, he can't ruin ma favorite hammer… again."

"Ohhhh, this'll be so exciting!" Fishlegs squealed. "Meatlug, remind me to pack extra parchment and pencils. Oh, and charcoal sticks!"

"Yeah, yeah, and all that," Gobber said impatiently as he stood up. "Meeting's over, clear out! I smell a bowl of lamb stew with my name on it and I can't be held responsible for anyone who gets in the way."

"Gobber, Gobber, a moment of your time please?" A villager asked. "My fence is broken down _again_ and there are some _very_ suspicious hoofprints in my–" the rest was lost when a meaty hand was slapped over his face.

"I just wanna eat in peace," Gobber groaned.

Toothless huffed as he watched everyone disperse. "Well, that was quick and painless. We really accomplished a lot here. Much talking do much good. I am so happy we go here. Land-striders accomplish so much in so small time!"

"Oh gods, he's learning sarcasm," Astrid whined. She glared at Hiccup. "He's picking it up from you!"


	6. Out of Control

**A/N:**  
If, as you read the first section, you say to yourself, "Hey, didn't I read something _very_ similar in Hookfang's Tale?" Well, my only response is "Shh!" Besides, I changed a few words.

Thanks to Deadly-Bagel for being my beta buddy. He had the gall to call my story hilarious! Can ya believe it? Go check out his "Gift of Wings" story sometime as it's quite cuddly.

Dragonrider's Fury, thanks for the kind words! You just made me squeal like a pig in the mud on a hot summer day. That was definitely one of those mini climax moments, a profound point about the characters that I intentionally throw out there without any fanfare for those who can really connect with it.

7sky, Toothless says he's offended that you think it'd take 3 days to set everything on fire. I'm feeling kinda nervous about that look in his eyes.

Epclaymore, yeah, sorry, this one took 3 weeks to get out. I can't write without my TP and rice, so I had to wait for some to appear on the shelves. :P I should be back on the 2-week schedule until I get caught up again to increase the pace.

* * *

**Out of Control**

For his whole life, food was always simple for Toothless, and when he was hungry, it was always incredible. The only thing better than a fish plucked from the sea a moment ago was many fish. The rear quarters of an elk, bones and all, always went down a treat. When Toothless was hungry _and_ felt drowsy, he might find himself gorging on the fatty meat of a bear or boar still warm from the kill.

Once, he'd cracked open the skull of a bear and offered the delicious contents to his rider who politely declined by gagging.

The dragon never could understand why land-striders would always go to such great lengths to ruin perfectly good food. They would trim off the fat, pluck the feathers from chickens, stretch out the disembodied hide, smear the meat with oils and bits of plant matter, smash it with a stone, drown it in water, strangle it with thin vines, burn it over a fire, suffocate it with smoke all day long, impale it with a stick, set it out in the sun or near a fire to dry out and shrivel up, pack clay around it… the list went on. By the time land-striders declared the stuff ready to eat, it would be impossible to discern what that substance used to be, whether that dripping, plant-riddled mush was a fish or a sheep or an elk.

It was horrible! It was disgusting! It was… _unnatural_!

Toothless could recall the first time he saw a land-strider stoop down to uproot some sort of orange plant thing with green leaves sprouting from the top of it, brush off the dirt, and eat it. What did he think he was, a _goat_?! At least _they_ had the decency to eat what grew _above_ the ground. Why not just be lazy and eat _dirt_ like some sort of… worm or… death-eater!

Of course, over time, Toothless learned to accept such eccentricities with his Firefly and the other land-striders. He learned to develop the habit of waiting before tearing into a fresh kill as Firefly found great value in painstakingly removing the flesh and sinew from the carcass. Firefly learned to accept the brain when Toothless was in a generous mood, but instead of eating it, he would wrap it up in the hide and take it back to the village where they would do very unnatural and smelly things to it. However, once Toothless learned that this sort of stuff was part of the process for Firefly to make the tailfin and the flying gear, allowing the meat to cool off a little before digging in was a very acceptable sacrifice.

When his life winds blew over to Firefly's body and he was forced to learn to walk on two legs with no tail for balance or claws for grip, he went those first couple of days without food. He became quite hungry at first, but that feeling passed, and he wasn't too worried about himself since he knew land-striders occasionally went days without food with no ill effects.

However, unlike land-striders, dragons didn't carry around layers of fat sufficient to last days on end. With the amount of effort it took to fling such a large body through the sky, and even on days spent lazing around, eating daily was a necessity. One day without food resulted in a gnawing hunger. Two days was asking for trouble. Three days was begging for death.

The little bits of dried fish that they had with them in the saddlebags came up very short in trying to ebb Firefly's ravenous hunger in his Night Fury body, and hunting or catching fish was out of the question with how clumsy they both were in their new bodies. Had the group of dragons and riders, led by Stormfly's capable nose, arrived one day later, they might have found only a dragon-turned-land-strider slumped over his dead dragon in despair.

Needless to say, the relief he felt on seeing them was immeasurable.

When Stormfly regurgitated some fish into Firefly's mouth, it was very amusing to see his reaction when instincts took over. The only thing more hilarious was the way he tried to shy away from the half seal that the dragons conjured from the sea for him, but the urges of the body would not be denied. Toothless had then obstinately tried to eat a fresh fish, only to suddenly develop a little sympathy for what Firefly went through way back when he was offered the regurgitated tail end of a raw fish.

Since then, Firefly had learned to accept raw fish in his maw, and Toothless learned that it was a bad idea to try to swallow a chunk of bread or cheese without chewing for an inordinate amount of time. In fact, except for water, _everything_ required a lifetime of chewing – that was what it felt like.

However, tonight, he was presented with a perplexing combination of both liquid and solid food, drink and chew. Seated in the Great Hall, as he looked at the substance in the bowl in front of him, he felt caught in an intense battle between disgust and desire. The food – if one would call it that – was hot and steamy. His mouth quivered and filled with drool.

He had already sipped at some foamy brown liquid that Astrid called "ale" that was in a clay vessel called a "mug", which tasted horrible, both the ale and the mug.

While the stuff in this bowl smelled good, it was just mushy... stuff. Gobber called it "lamb stew", apparently so named for the lumps floating in what appeared to be watery, brown, runny… well, it reminded him of what came out of Stormfly that one time she learned a valuable lesson that eating cooked bones was a terrible idea because they splintered inside her the way raw bones didn't. It was a very messy, smelly, and unpleasant recovery for her.

Toothless took a sip of ale and cast a pleading look at Firefly, who only huffed and rolled his eyes.

_{If I can eat regurgitated fish, you can eat this.}_

He lowered his head to the "food", but… well, he couldn't. There was a massive design flaw in the clay bowl that contained it because his head was too big to fit inside, and his tongue was far too short to lap it up. He ended up sipping some more ale; at least _that_ was something he was physically capable of consuming, but that did give him an idea. He tried tipping the bowl and sipping along the rim, until he suddenly became acutely aware of just how sensitive a land-strider's face was to heat, and an involuntary jerk sent half the contents onto his lap. Fortunately, his false outer hide was sufficient protection against such an assault.

_Great, now my food is trying to kill me. Someone tell me how land-striders survived us attacking them for so long, let alone surviving on their own?_

Toothless groaned and sipped at his ale. He still didn't like it but at least it didn't bite him in the face when he tried to consume it.

Astrid grinned at Toothless' frustrated scowl from across the table. "And I thought _my_ little guy was helpless."

She then pointed to a wooden thing next to the bowl – a spoon – grabbed one of her own, and demonstrated the motions of introducing the food to her mouth. Several clumsy attempts later, Toothless succeeded in sticking it in his mouth instead of his eye, where he learned another lesson. For how sensitive his face was to the hot food, the inside of his mouth was even more so. It took a bit of observing those around him – and trying to ignore Astrid's giggling – before he figured out the routine of scooping, blowing, and carefully slurping and nibbling.

After a couple of successful bites, he took a sip of his ale to cool his mouth down and asked, "Why make food hot if hot bad?"

"It's only hot for a little bit," she said. "Food tastes better when hot." She fished out a piece of cheese from a slit in the chunk of bread floating in her bowl. "Here, Hiccup," she said, placing it on her shoulder, "How's your favorite cheese on your new tongue?"

The dragon carefully nibbled it off her shoulder, and though Toothless couldn't hear him without any physical contact, the delighted smacking was enough of a response. That was one thing land-striders did _right_ with food, turning an uninteresting white liquid into cheese. As a dragon, he had found that a slightly queasy stomach was sometimes a worthwhile trade to enjoy a little nibble of the stuff.

"Seems you're taking a liking to ale," Astrid quipped as Toothless took another sip.

He shook his head. "Not like. Not know why land-striders like this. But it not burn me."

He took another sip, but the mug was empty. He had filled it himself once before, managing to keep half of it from sloshing out, so he got up to do it again. Perhaps more of this would satisfy his rumbling stomach until the too-hot food was less painful to eat.

Astrid grinned. "Nope, ale definitely doesn't burn you. At least not immediately."

Toothless turned to look back at her and saw a grin. Firefly was slowly shaking his head, eyes downcast.

"What you mean?" Toothless asked as he sat down with a filled mug, proud of himself for losing less than half of its contents on his way over. "Ale burn me later?" He took another sip. "Not feel burn."

"Nevermind," Astrid said, still grinning.

Toothless didn't like that grin.

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Toothless smiled at the sight of his dragon, his Firefly, sprawled out on a table, groaning around a bulging belly. He knew from experience how satisfying it could feel to gorge on so much greasy, fatty food.

Aside from lamb stew, Firefly was able to secure a heaping pile of lamb fat and gristle, and his instinctive urge to eat everything he could did not relent until after he was stuffed. He had seen the immense power of Toothless' adorable puppy eyes routine and decided to try it for himself now that he was a Night Fury. However, at a nest that was raided by dragons for most of his life, he was used to manipulating others in subtle ways, surviving and minimizing his beatings for being a weak runt in a flock where weakness could not be tolerated. When such skills were exercised in a Night Fury's body, well, Toothless never knew he could look so adorable and culpable.

Everyone was almost tripping over themselves to give him what he wanted. When he learned to perfect his hurt hatchling croon, some land-striders came close to fainting.

Now that he was full and drowsy, he trusted himself to let Astrid sit on the bench in front of him with their child in her arms, and Firefly was desperately fighting to summon the willpower to lift his head so he could nuzzle the child.

The shock and awe of the chief in a Night Fury's body was starting to fade. A couple of villagers had approached Toothless to settle a dispute, something about a sheep and coin, having already forgotten that their chief was in the dragon's body and that Gobber was handling such stuff as the beta. Toothless shrugged at them, grabbed a couple maces that were hanging on the wall – cackling at his ability to hold two things at once – and tossed one at each villager.

That did not end well. At least that was what Gobber said, but Toothless thought it was very amusing to watch. It was the dragon way to settle any conflict.

Gobber managed to intercept anyone else seeking out the chief before any more damage could be done, leaving Toothless to do as he pleased, which ended up with him sitting on the floor with his third mug of ale next to him. The stuff still tasted unpleasant, but the effect of it was like slithering around a field of dragon nip, back when he was a dragon. Gathered around him was a large flock of young land-striders – kids – who had a much easier time than the older land-striders in treating him like they always have, except without climbing all over him since he wasn't a dragon anymore.

However, these kids were full of so many very silly ideas and needed to be set straight.

"That not so" Toothless said to the one name Hildegard. He took a sip from his mug and said, "You land-striders say world flat. That _*HIC*_ stupid."

Hildegard crossed her arms and gave him a stern look. "We're not stupid. Everyone knows that Midgard is a plane. My daddy said so!"

Toothless shook his head, which made the world spin a little. "He wrong. I know. When Firefly make fancy tail _*HIC*_ fin, I not need rider, I fly high. High as the clouds and then again that high. High as Firefly feel light-headed and still _*HIC*_ more high."

That was a scary flight. It wasn't long after Firefly fully recovered from the fight with the demonic queen, back when he was deaf to dragons. He had encouraged Toothless to fly as high as he could, and Toothless was happy to comply. As the air started to thin out, Firefly felt light-headed, but in the rush of excitement, he urged his dragon higher still.

Then he passed out.

They tumbled without any control over the false tailfin, and no matter how loud Toothless shrieked and roared, his rider didn't wake up until after they passed below the clouds. By the time Firefly woke up and realized where he was and what was happening, well, suffice to say that it was a very close call.

Then, once, Firefly made a very fancy tailfin that allowed the dragon to fly without a rider. Toothless didn't want to leave his Firefly, but he felt the sudden urge to do something he hadn't done since back when he was a thrall to the demonic queen, before he was shot down. He flew upward hard and fast, past the height at which Firefly fainted and higher still. The more he rose, the weaker the air had become and the more difficult it was to breathe. Onward and upward, the sky became darker, the moon and stars brighter, the harder it became to ascend even though he felt lighter. His labored breath came out as faint wisps of icy mist, and the cold was so intense that it stung even him.

He too passed out, but not for long. When he woke up, he straightened his descent, basking in the warmth all over as the wind rushing past him grew in strength. He knew to be very cautious when extending his wings at that speed so they wouldn't be torn from his body. It was a very satisfying flight, but he knew what he was doing when he destroyed that tailfin so he would have to continue flying with Firefly on his back. He knew what he really wanted in life.

One thing he recalled quite vividly from that experience, even now with his murky land-strider mind, was how the world stretched out beneath him. The islands were tiny pebbles floating in the water. Distant glaciers that he knew were very large seemed so small at that height. Past the islands where the weather was warmer for longer, he could see the coastline of a very large landmass that had to be hundreds of times or larger than Berk.

"So what?" Hildegard demanded. "You flew high. I do that all the time!" Toothless gave her an unamused stare. She eventually started to fidget and finally capitulated. "Fine, Dad says I'm too young to fly. There, happy? Now tell me what you saw."

Toothless thought about that as he sipped at his ale. How would one communicate how the ground seemed to fall away in all directions? An idea came to mind and he reached up to grab a now-empty bowl from the table.

"Like this," he said, placing the bowl on the ground upside-down. "Put eye close, see how it look."

Hildegard pressed her face against the bowl. "So, you're saying the world looks like a bowl?"

Toothless leaned in and looked for himself. "Hrrr, not have flat part on top, more like turtle shell."

"A turtle shell?" Hildegard stared at Toothless as though he grew a second head. She put her hands on her hip and asked, "Then what's the turtle standing on?"

Toothless shrugged and took another sip of the ale. "Another turtle?"

"Then what's _that_ turtle standing on?"

"I not know," Toothless said nonchalantly. "Not see from above turtle shell. Must be turtles all the way down."

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Spitelout smiled as he crested a rocky climb to the top of a ridge. He had finally caught up to his dragon.

Again.

"C'mon, Kingstail, enough playing hard to get," he grumbled as he walked up to his dragon. Kingstail lifted a talon and leaned over the edge for the fifth time that night, but he froze when Spitelout gave him a sour look. He knew the dragon could have made himself impossible to reach if he wanted to. The silly lizard was only playing hard-to-get.

"Nevermind," Spitelout said, turning around and walking back to the Great Hall. "You can be alone as long as you want. Keep on pouting like a petulant child." He threw his arms in the air. "You make a wonderful mindless slave, obeying Toothless' every whim like an unthinking animal broken to his master."

The leathery sound of flapping wings sounded out behind him and he could anticipate the precise moment the dragon thudded down in front of him to squawk indignantly.

Spitelout crossed his arms. "What, I thought you wanted to get _away_ from me? Well, go on. He gestured with his hands as he walked past the dragon. "Shoo!"

The dragon took a hop to stand in front of him again, hissing in frustration.

"Whaddya want, ya sparky lizard?"

He ran past the dragon, who took a hop and a flap to land in front of him again. A hop to the side was matched by the dragon. Spitelout dashed forward and ducked underneath, but he tripped over a sweep of the tail.

"Ohh, you wanna play dirty, eh?" Spitelout scrambled to his feet. "C'mere ya little newt!"

He lunged at the dragon and they twisted around each other in a maelstrom of snapping teeth, striking fists, whipping tail, and kicking feet. They ended up sprawled out in a heap, heaving for air.

"Well, I'll admit," Spitelout said between pants of air, "that never gets old." They both wobbled to their feet. "Really, though, I may not be the dragon hugger Hiccup is, but you know that I don't see you as some dumb animal. If I used your dragon methods for securing a mate, or if I treated my children the way you dragons treat yours, I'd probably be executed. Being different isn't a bad thing. Trying to be alike would be so much worse! Right?"

The dragon studied him for a moment, then gave his arm a lick.

"Like that," Spitelout said, pointing to his arm. "I'd be attacked if I ever did that to someone. But you're too twitchy, bending over backward at the merest suggestion from Toothless. That's not the dragon way; it's the spineless way."

Kingstail grumbled at that.

"I know, I know, you love him more than you love fish, Red Death and whatnot, but I demand some respect from you. I've raised my fists to protect you and your honor, and I expect the same from you. Otherwise, we might as well part ways. I'll say, 'Farewell, Kingstail, and thanks for all the lifts.'" In a horrendous falsetto, he mockingly replied, "So long, Spitelout, and thanks for all the fish." He looked sideways at his dragon. "Is that what you want?"

The dragon chittered discontentedly and dug his snout into Spitelout's chest.

Spitelout sighed and started walking towards the Great Hall. "I'm glad the feeling's mutual. I know I'm pushy and blunt, I've got my quirks as much as you've got yours, but if you're convinced I'm trying to respect you as you deserve, boyo, return the favor. Deal?"

The dragon twitched his head towards the Great Hall, then briefly tilted his head up to expose his neck. It was a gesture Spitelout had seen dragons perform to Hiccup and Toothless, a dragon equivalent of bowing.

Spitelout threw his arms up in frustration. "I don't _know_, and that's _all_ I was saying! Is there an appreciable risk to us with a Night Fury as a Viking chief? Would our allies freak out and rally to burn us to the ground? If an armada floats in to raid us and we're all running to our chief who speaks another language because he's a dragon, would good people die from the indecision and chaos that results in?"

He stared at his dragon. "Do you think I've completely flown off the handle, that there really is absolutely no basis for doubt or concern?"

Kingstail stared at him, unmoving. Eventually, he gave a subtle shake of his head.

Spitelout stared deep into the dragon's eye that was tilted towards him in thought. "So, when Toothless bleeds all over you and says, 'Hey, be mean to your rider,' and you obey without a second thought, does that sound like a fair way to treat anyone you care about?"

Kingstail's whole body drooped as he hung his head and slowly shook it. Spitelout put a hand under the dragon's chin to lift it up and smiled. "Thank you. Life throws some strange stuff at us, and we don't always like it, like when we had to learn to see dragons as friends instead of unthinking and evil monsters, but we'll figure things out. We'll adapt and thrive in the end. That's what Jorgensons do, right?"

The dragon trilled cheerfully and gave him a playful shove. Spitelout picked himself up off the ground with a grin and shoved his dragon back.

"Though, if the lamb stew is all gone by the time I get back because of you, you won't be getting up anytime soon from what I'll do to ya."

The dragon gave him a light push forward and sprinted off with a lilting warble. Spitelout took off after his dragon, laughing and shouting, "Get back here, ya sparky lizard!"

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Toothless was thoroughly enjoying himself. The kids surrounding him were giving him their full attention with looks of amazement and awe as he recounted for them a time when he fought off twenty land-striders with his wings and legs bound up tight in rope. Some or all of the details may have been altered, but it was close enough.

"Sah, the' ledeh hash meh curn'd, an' he grinn like he _*HIC*_ know he win," Toothless said, recounting a fight where he had dispatched forty land-striders while bound and muzzled… or something like that.

One of the older kids, Gustav, handed Toothless his fourth mug of ale. No, this would be the fifth. Or sixth?

"Did he kill you?" One of the little boys asked, eyes wide in fright.

"'Course noh' _*HIC*_." Toothless took a sip of the wonderful ale that he hated so much. "Heeee, he should'a know I had _tail_. I spin _*HIC*_ 'round an–" Toothless spun around in his sitting position in demonstration. Well, he tried and ended up laying on the floor. "Look," he said, pointing at a brazier, "fire so purdy. I make fire, so _I_ purdy."

Firefly groaned, but Astrid put a hand on his shoulder. "Best way to learn why this is a bad idea and you know it," she said.

Toothless smiled up at her head. Both of them. "Ale... good, yes, good. Not burn me. Good. Yes."

Astrid smirked. "Just wait until morning."

"What about the other twenty dragon hunters?" a girl asked. "How did you take care of them?"

Toothless waved it off with a chuckle. "Ha! I, I looks at _*HIC*_ him an… an' I goes, _RAAARRR–" _he coughed in his stupid narrow land-strider throat. "Then they, then they jus', jus', fffffall over an' drop dead."

"I thought you were muzzled."

"Ehhhh," Toothless mumbled, flicking a hand in irritation. _Details._ So many questions from these snippety land-striders.

A large land-strider stomped up to them and Astrid turned from where she sat to look at him and said, "Spitelout, I see you got things straightened out with your dragon. Still plenty of stew in the cauldron."

Spitelout stared at the ground for a moment. "Thank you, Astrid," he said after an uncomfortably lengthy pause. "I don't know how this will all pan out, and this," he gestured between Astrid and Firefly, "feels all sorts of strange. I still don't like it, but I don't speak for all the council, and from what I've heard, I'll just have to bite my tongue for a few more days at least."

He held out a hand and Astrid slowly extended hers. "Thank you Spitelout, and if it helps any, I don't like this change any more than you."

With that, they grabbed each other's wrists and pulled in to pat each other's backs. Toothless snorted at one of the most delicately measured pissing contests he had ever seen.

Spitelout then took a deep breath and turned to Toothless. "And I have a bone to pick with you." The land-strider reached an arm down, grabbed Toothless' tunic, and hauled him up to sit on a bench at the table. Firefly growled at such handling of his rider, but Spitelout merely rolled his eyes. "Are you going to turn into Toothless, Hiccup? Take a knee and submit, or die?" He crossed his arms. "You're better than that."

The growling subsided. "Wha' ya'want?" Toothless slurred.

Spitelout scowled at that. "I've had enough of your attitude, Toothless, trying to turn Kingstail against me. We've talked about it, and you're clearly abusing your sway over the dragons. There is no honor in using past deeds as leverage towards unruly ends."

"Bah!" Toothless waved it off. "Saysh you. Head hotter _*HIC*_ than, rrrr, Nadder ffffire. Need learn to control... _*HIC*_ ssself."

"Control!" Spitelout spat. "You are in no position to lecture me about self-control!"

"Sure I _*HIC*_ am. I always in, in, control."

Spitelout bridled at that. "Like when you murdered my brother?" he growled.

"..."

Silence.

Toothless never realized how loud it had been with everyone talking and laughing and belching and shouting until they all suddenly stilled.

The silence was quickly broken by a loud, shrieking roar.

"Spitelout!" Astrid scolded, "that's not fair! Toothless was under the control of a Bewilderbeast and you know it!"

All else that was said by the land-striders was lost to Toothless, though. His vision blurred, his ears rang, his lips quivered. The next thing he knew was that he was thumping his head against the table, fluids leaking out of his mouth and eyes and nose.

For the past year, he had lived with the burden of knowing that he killed Stalwart, or Stoick as the land-striders called him. Firefly always loved his sire, and over time, Toothless had developed a deep respect for the land-strider. The flawless memory innate to dragons would never allow him to forget how it felt to completely lose control as that great sea dragon took over his mind. He never forgot the thrill he had felt as he released his fireball and took a life, feeling satisfied because the monster that controlled him told him that he did a good thing. He would always remember the gut-wrenching feeling when Firefly woke him up from that mind snare so that he could think and feel for himself, and he realized he killed someone he loved.

Stoick's last words as he jumped to intercept the fireball, though unheard by Firefly, were a consoling part of Toothless' memories: "It is better this way."

The ashes had cooled down, but now the fire instantly flared into a raging inferno that was burning him to cinders. All he could do was curl up and whimper as his traitorous land-strider mind thrust him back in time to that terrible moment, but he could not stop remembering that moment, each time a little different and a little worse. He lived through the trauma again, but this time, the fireball hit a little differently, and instead of glancing off of Firefly, Stoick's blasted body smashed him into a rock, the impact killing him. He saw it again, but this time, Stoick was too slow. His precious Firefly was blown to bits, and the monster released his control long enough for Toothless to feel the full, crushing weight of his grief. Again, he saw Stoick take the hit, but Drago wasn't satisfied. He commanded Toothless to tear his rider to shreds, and the dragon's mind was in a constant and futile struggle to control himself until the deed was done and all hope was lost.

Again and again, he impotently watched himself kill everyone he ever loved. The grief and feeling of helplessness clawed at his mind and dragged him into a shadowed maw. He knew it was only his imagination, and that this ale was a big part of the problem, and he hated himself all the more for placing himself in this situation. He knew that Spitelout was absolutely right, that he was not in control of himself, not a year ago when he killed Stoick, and not now.

Something shook his shoulder. "Toothless?" It was Astrid's voice, but he heard it as if he was underwater.

Something shook him more roughly. "I'll admit I took that a bit far, but c'mon, Toothless." Spitelout's voice.

Something large, warm, and wet lifted his chin and licked his face. Toothless spluttered on the saliva and looked up to see his Firefly standing on the table, which was littered with deep gouges and wood chips that must have been from his claws. Toothless lunged forward and clung to the maw, frantically grasping at the toothless gums and tongue and nose, clinging with a death grip to his precious Firefly, his light, his guide. He snorted, choked, and coughed, laughing at his relief and how silly he knew he must have appeared. This ale was even more potent than dragon nip.

As he clutched his Firefly, he struggled to recall why his mind had gone down that dark path. He had genuinely wanted to kill himself, to simply stop breathing, but looking back, he knew that would have been a silly thing to do.

He eventually sat against his dragon's side and let out a sigh. He had no idea why everyone was wobbling so much, or why Spitelout's cape had a few long, ragged tears down most of its length. However, he had a really strong suspicion as to why there were several toothmarks around a corner of the table that was clearly bitten off. As a dragon, when his blood was boiling in a good rage, the resulting destruction could not be averted, only redirected.

"Feeeul goo' now," Toothless said. "Hrrr, no' _*HIC*_ good. Less no'goo'. I Love him. Miss him. Sad I _*HIC* _kill him."

"Yes, and you made that very clear," Astrid said. She turned both of her heads to Spitelout "And if you can accept Kingstail's friendship, then it is for the same reason that we cannot blame Toothless for having been controlled."

Spitelout scratched the back of his neck. "Ya can't blame me for being upset, but Astrid's right, Toothless."

Toothless favored ignoring the land-strider. There was nothing to say to soothe him nor any desire to do so. Spitelout would never understand what it was like under the grip of the mind snare. He could become a dragon whisperer and live through the memories shared by every dragon on this island, he could spend the rest of his life hearing about what it was like, but he could never fully understand to what degree such enthrallment was worse than death. No accusation or biting remark could ever sting more than the frustration and guilt from within, and recognizing that actually helped him feel better.

Spitelout eventually wandered off, grumbling about being ignored. Sleeping suddenly felt like a good idea, so Toothless curled up on the table, then hummed happily as his dragon curled up around him.

The table suddenly cracked in half where the claws had weakened it and they both tumbled to the ground. Toothless was too sleepy to care. The dragon he had landed on was so soft, anyway.


	7. Beatdown

**A/N:  
**Sarnakh the Sunderer, words cannot express how thrilled I am to see a comment on the turtles all the way down. I've always wanted to have Toothless debunk the flat Earth concept (though, if I understand right, it was not a new concept in the time of Galileo), but once I found a way to wedge in the turtles, I just had to do it.

Dragonrider's Fury, if I play my cards right, this next section will leave you just as speechless as the last. ;)

Epclaymore, thanks for dropping a line. I'm slowly getting caught up again with my writing schedule.

Toothlessgolfer, glad ya liked drunken Toothless. Deadly-Bagel helped a lot with drunkifying his speech.

**Beatdown**

Toothless wandered the forest, muttering in frustration. The shadows underneath the sprawling canopy were as dark as night, but the rays of the morning sun stabbing through were blindingly bright. His cheek hurt from a branch that had only a biting reprimand for having been shoved aside so roughly, but worst of all was that he had lost something very important. It was anyone's guess how he could lose something so large, something that would unquestionably change his life for the better and grant him everything he ever desired.

Then he saw it – not the thing he was seeking, but signs that it must be nearby. The sun was almost perfectly aligned to shine through a tunnel in the canopy where branches were snapped by something crashing through. A splintered tree trunk marked the start of a furrow gouged into the grass, leaving pungent ridges of freshly-churned loamy soil.

He gasped in excitement. This! Was! It! The answer to all of life's questions, the solution to every problem, the thing he sought must be just over the ridge that this furrow led to. He crept up to the ridge and lowered himself to the ground to tentatively peek over–

THERE!

There it was! He couldn't believe it! His plan _actually_ worked!

_On second thought, of course it worked!_ he thought to himself. _I never miss!_

He whooped and cheered for himself as he scampered down the slope to claim his prize. This would solve everything! All would instantly respect him. He would be what everyone wished they could be because he had done what nobody else could do. Every viable female would soon be fighting for the honor of being his mate. He decided he might even be generous and share his greatness with several of them. After all, it would only be right for someone so magnificent to sire as many offspring as possible.

He scrambled over the ridge and down the steep hill, pressing himself against a large boulder at the bottom to catch his breath before facing the demon. He inhaled deeply and rounded the boulder, forcing himself to strut right up to his people's most hated enemy. It was absolutely beautiful, but he also knew that this thing was absolutely deadly too. He took a moment to revel in the thought that he alone, and none other before him, had managed to tear this evil monster from its flight and slam it into the ground.

Knife grasped in his shaking hand, he looked down at the demon. The thing was bound up tight, the ropes stained with blood from where they had cut through its hide from all the impotent thrashing the previous night. The thing couldn't even budge.

The demon opened an eye and looked at him. He never knew that such a monster could feel anything besides blind hate, but a vast pit of misery and resignation stared out of that demonic eye. The creature closed its eye and rested its head against the ground with a long exhale, as if sighing in resignation, exposing its neck and practically begging for death.

He wasn't one to argue. It wouldn't be as amazing a tale to tell as if the demon suddenly fought back and had to be subdued, but the fight was already won, the victor obvious long ago.

He lowered his knife to the neck, the tip of the sharp blade pricking the hide, but a thought came to him.

Would it be right to take a life under such circumstances, when he had an opportunity to interact with this creature and maybe even make peace with it? This demon was the last of its kind, as far as he knew, so would he be happy with himself for wiping all of its kind from existence? Did he really deserve the satisfaction of claiming this ultimate victory?

YES!

He plunged the blade in, and hot blood spurted everywhere, but at that same instant, something bit his neck. He gasped in pain and frantically looked around for what had bitten him, but there was nothing there besides himself and the demon. When he reached a hand to his own neck, he felt a trickle of warm blood.

It didn't matter! This was his moment, his victory! He thrust the blade deeper into the demon and felt the gnawing pain in his own neck flare even more.

"You cannot hurt us anymore!" he shouted defiantly as he jerked the blade out and plunged it in again. A searing pain blossomed in his own neck. His vision turned red and he grit his teeth as he wiggled the blade around, tearing at the demon's neck more and more, ignoring what felt like a knife cutting at his own throat. It must have been nothing more than imagination.

"You cannot hurt us anymore!" he shouted as he jerked the knife around. "You cannot hurt us anymore!" He felt the stiff resistance of the esophagus at the tip of the blade, deep in the dragon's neck. One more thrust and the demon would be choking on its own blood. "You cannot– HRK!"

His voice gave out with his last thrust. He looked down and saw his own blood gushing freely from his neck as he choked and spluttered. His head felt light and airy, his vision faded. He knew he was dying, but he also knew the demon was too, so he decided that it would be with a triumphant smirk on his face that he would take his last breath.

The world was all but blackness when he saw the demon's head suddenly lunge at him as it craned its neck around. Despair fell over him. The demon wasn't dead yet, and now it was going to bite his head off. He only hoped that it would eventually die on its own or at least be weakened enough that the next person who ran across it would be able to kill it.

A large, wet tongue flicked out and smeared itself across his face. He channeled his last dregs of strength into pushing the knife in even deeper, trying to laugh in victory around the gurgling in his throat, and the demon whined.

The licking assault did not cease and only grew more frantic with each lapping of the tongue. Light returned to his vision and he groaned, then squeaked in surprise that he could breathe before he spluttered on another slobbery assault.

He raised his arms to parry the tongue and glared defiantly at the demon. No, wait, something was amiss, he realized. It dawned on him that he felt smooth stone beneath him, not grass, and his head throbbed mercilessly. He looked up to see two acid-green eyes staring intently at him, and the demon… no, not a demon… a Night Fury, his precious Firefly! The poor thing was panting rapidly, snarling on the inhales and whining on the exhales.

He frantically looked around in bewilderment to see Astrid just off to the side, leaning against Stormfly's flank. Reality finally crept into his mind as he realized what had happened. Ever since Firefly had become a dragon whisperer, back before they changed bodies, his mind would project his dreams while he slept, which was disorienting and almost maddening for a dragon for whom imagination was a foreign and novel concept.

"Had a little nightmare?" Astrid asked casually. She still had that same smirk as when she said that the ale would burn Toothless. Toothless didn't like that smirk.

Firefly suddenly lunged forward and pounced, desperately curling around Toothless and trying to wrap every leg and wing and tail around him all at once, to revel in the fact that they were both alive and whole.

"Unnnnghhhh…" Toothless moaned. His head felt like it was splitting into two, again and again and again and again….

The snarling and whining eventually faded and Toothless was able to pick up the first coherent thought from his… dragon. _{I suppose I now know what it's like to be you all those times I've had nightmares in the past.}_

Firefly eventually unwound and Toothless raised himself to a sitting position – slowly, very slowly, to avoid making his head explode.

"So," Astrid said in a lilting voice, "what did I tell you about the ale burning you later on?"

Toothless groaned. "Head… hurt…"

########

* * *

########

Astrid may have had that "I told you so" look on her face, but she was not without compassion. From her experience, a person would lop off their fingers with a sharp blade unless they endured a painful slice first, caution around a hot kettle was never exercised until one felt the pain of burning their hand, and a rider never learned to fully trust their dragon until they were dropped from high in the sky and caught again. Likewise, it was for Toothless' own good to experience drunkenness and a hangover, though Astrid and Hiccup did make sure that the poor guy didn't drink too much.

It was for that reason that she already had a cure already waiting for him, which began with a bucket full of cold water that she placed in front of him.

Toothless had eyes for nobody, mumbling over and over again, "I test. I fail. I hurt. Spitelout right. Not control. Not Firefly."

Astrid had no clue what he was rambling on about, but she leaned down and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Toothless, down on your hands and knees, and tip your head into this bucket. It will help. Trust me. Yes, that's it. Just hold your breath and plunge your head in."

Toothless paused in muttering his mantra and took a deep breath. As he dove in, Astrid asked Hiccup, "So, what's up with Toothless?"

The dragon projected his memory of the dream, which still had him shaken. In a breath of time, Astrid saw it all, and Toothless' mutterings suddenly made sense.

It was widely known that dreams would come to a person for a variety of purposes. Sometimes, it was meaningless imagery. Gothi, apparently, would see future events or potential situations in her dreams. Astrid had dreamed about Hiccup, back before they were married, when they craved each other but were too shy to say anything about it. Toothless had tattled on some dreams Hiccup had of Astrid, and the way he turned red and stammered was so adorable.

Now that Toothless was literally walking in Hiccup's boots, he must have wondered what would have happened if they switched places on that fateful night when Hiccup found the Night Fury in the forest. Astrid knew she would have killed the Night Fury instead of setting him free were she in Hiccup's boots, as would Stoick or any other Viking, even the bookish and squeamish Fishlegs. Freeing the Night Fury instead of killing him was an act that had all the appearances of absolute madness, but it led to something greater than anybody ever dared to dream of, and so long as Hiccup kept his head out of the clouds, Astrid never hesitated to admit that.

She grabbed a bit of rolled-up kale with mustard and vinegar slathered on the inside, a surefire way to wake up Toothless enough that he could make it to the outhouse without falling in, and handed it to him. Toothless pouted and pushed her hand away, but a withering glare made him cringe and accept it.

A loud grating noise jerked Astrid's attention behind her where a rotund Viking was sliding to sit on the bench even as it skidded across the stone floor.

"Isheawake?!" Fishlegs asked fervently, eyes twitching and impossibly wide, fingers writhing like a tangle of hyperactive worms. "Heisheisheis! Ohboyohboyohboy!" He started clapping giddily as he lunged forward to plop down in front of Toothless.

Astrid placed a restraining hand on his forehead. "Down, boy, down!"

Fishlegs slumped. "But I was swamped in work at the forge _all day_ yesterday, and then Gobber made me leave him alone _all night_, and now he's finally awake and I wanna–"

Astrid slapped a hand over his mouth. "And if you could wait a day to meet Toothless in Hiccup's body, then you can wait for him to at least visit–"

"Outhouse, yes!" Fishlegs said excitedly, visibly fighting to restrain himself to not trip over his own tongue. "I'll take him to the outhouse and I know that the best cure for a hangover is some meditation in the morning and I've always wanted to meditate with Toothless but I never could because he's always too antsy and, ya know, Toothless, but now I can and I wanna–" He turned to Hiccup. "Hiccup, can I borrow your dragon? Err, rider? Toothless? CanIcanIcanI huhuhuhuh?"

Hiccup stared back, mouth agape, unable to come up with a rational response. Fishlegs was a strange person who could get very excited over trivial little details, but nobody had ever seen him bouncing off the walls like this.

After maybe a half-second of waiting, Fishlegs pumped a fist in the air. "Yes! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" He rounded on Toothless, who gulped in trepidation, and there was hardly any perception of motion before he was hopping along towards the doors of the Great Hall with Toothless slung over his shoulder, gleefully cackling. "We're gonna have so much fun Toothless I can't wait just you wait and see I'll– oh hey look you puked on me that's nice but I'll take care of you and we'll meditate and–"

The rest was lost as the door slammed behind him.

Astrid and Hiccup stared at the now-closed door, completely at a loss. She didn't even want to guess what sort of concoction he was on or why he was so giddy and eager to interact with a dragon-turned-human.

_{Did I just see what I think I just saw?}_

"Well… that just happened…"

Something heavy thumped down behind Astrid and she whirled around to see Stormfly ruffling her wings and twitching her head this way and that.

"Oh, 'mornin' Stormfly," Astrid said before letting out a yawn. The Nadder pressed her nose into Hiccup's snout, then into Astrid's hand.

_{Hello, Zealot. Can I borrow your mate? I've always enjoyed fighting with Toothless, and Firefly looks like Toothless, and he needs to learn to run and fly and fight. Can I borrow him? I promise I'll be gentle. Please?}_

Astrid opened her mouth to ask what in Midgard was going on, but Hiccup's tail was already clamped in Stormfly's maw as she dragged him bodily towards the Great Hall doors. Hiccup cast Astrid a pleading look, but she could only stare in blank shock as he was hauled away.

"And people always say me and Tuff are the weird ones," Ruffnut said as she slid onto the bench with Astrid, sliding a mug of ale over. "Here, Astrid, you look like you need this."

########

* * *

########

Before waking up in the body of a Night Fury, Hiccup had never considered a physical fight to be an invigorating task. Sure, he had been forced to participate in training with maces that he could not lift and axes that he could not swing, and had even decided – well, was coerced by the woman he loved – to train with Astrid using more appropriate weaponry. It was always an exercise in enduring failure and frustration, which was something Hiccup was used to through his whole upbringing, and it always ended with exhaustion, sore joints, bruises, and most prominently the yearning desire to never do this ever again. At least Astrid never mocked or shamed him, though, but somehow, the mock-condescending smirk on her face would always compel him to get back up.

Somehow, though, when Stormfly forced him to play-fight with her, teaching him with a few light swipes of her claws on his belly that he had no choice in the matter, Hiccup learned a whole new angle. His body burned, his blood boiled, and he itched to swipe at her as he got into their little tussle. Lashing out at her scratched that itch in the most amazing way, and every time he tried to apologize for scoring her hide, she responded by trying to sink her teeth into his neck.

Of course, Stormfly stomped all over him, quite literally, but it took Hiccup by surprise how much he began to enjoy the experience. Honestly, it scared him that he was losing himself in the Night Fury, but by the time they were done, sprawled out and panting in satisfaction, he felt like everything in the world was just right.

There was one thing that surprised him even more, though. As he stood atop a grassy cliff and allowed Astrid to secure the saddle and tailfin, watching the sun sparkle on the waves in infinitely more detail than his human eyes had ever seen, he felt more alive and energized than before his sparring with Stormfly.

Said dragon caught his eye and trilled at him. _{I told you that playing was fun.}_

Hiccup looked down at a quill embedded in his leg and pulled it out with his teeth. _{A dragon's body craves it, yes, but it's not who I am. It's not what I do.}_

The Nadder snorted at that. She licked the leg where the quill was plucked out and presented her flank, which had a spot that Hiccup had hit with his claws but not with his tongue. He grimaced, but he already felt his instincts tugging his head forward so he could lick at the scratch.

_{Firefly, tell me again why you think you're not a dragon?}_

Hiccup rolled his eyes.

"Hey, with how you're licking my dragon, your girl might get jealous," Astrid chided liltingly as she tugged a strap tight on the tailfin. "Don't make me start licking Toothless, like we did that one night."

Hiccup froze, his limbs rigid, and he looked back at his wife. He could tell she was just pulling his leg, though, as it was written as plain as day in the emotions carried on her passive hum.

Still, Astrid paused and said, "You know I'm kidding, Babe, right?"

Hiccup curled around to offer a snout to her hand. _{You do realize you're talking to someone who can literally sense a person's emotions from the far side of the island?}_ Astrid grinned and gave a playful thump to his snout. _{And isn't it a bit early to have a mug of ale?}_

"Shh!" she hissed at him and crossed her arms. "Toothless takes over my husband's body, then Fishlegs kidnaps him, and you've taken over Toothless' body and Stormfly drags you out for some sparring, leaving me to come to terms. And I only had _half_!"

She stood and walked over to Valka, who was standing nearby, holding their child. "You should be set," she said over her shoulder. "Check the fit."

Hiccup shifted his weight and swayed his tail. He thought back to how the saddle had felt those first few days; since he had fit it on Toothless before their souls switched bodies, it would be the ideal to aim for since he was well-practiced. With his perfect memory innate to dragons, he had no trouble at all comparing then to now. Granted, Astrid would have had no issue at all figuring it out since the buckles would have marks worn into the leather straps.

He gave a satisfied huff and wondered when Toothless and Fishlegs would show up, right as they came running in. Well, Fishlegs was running, that was for sure, but Toothless was clinging to Fishleg's back, fingers wrapped around the rotund rider's neck in what appeared to be an attempt to strangle him.

"Really, Toothless, you're making a mountain out of an anthill," Fishlegs said harriedly.

"You sat on me!" Toothless screeched indignantly.

"Well, if you would stop squirming around and cooperate so we could meditate properly…"

"You tried to kill me!"

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know, Fishlegs can be quite heavy."

"Hey!" Fishlegs squeaked. "That's not it, and you're not helping."

"Alright, then tell me," Astrid said as she shifted her child in her arms. "Why is Toothless trying to choke the life out of you?"

"He make me eat eel!" Toothless groused.

Hiccup yelped in surprise at that. He shifted over to sniff at Toothless, who was still clinging to Fishlegs' back and trying to choke him, but recoiled with a startled yelp, his nose wrinkling in disgust.

"Well, you see," Fishlegs said, "we know dragons hate eel, so I brought some smoked eel in a pouch… ya know, as a test… he's technically not a dragon, now… so…"

Hiccup chortled at that. _{That is definitely a Fishlegs sort of experiment.}_

Astrid buried her face into Hiccup's neck to stifle her laughter, ignoring Toothless who was grumbling about it not being funny. "So, did he like it?" she asked when she was able to control herself again.

"No!" was Toothless' biting reply.

"Actually, yes, and he asked for seconds," Fishlegs said.

"Until you told him what he was eating, I'm guessing?" Astrid asked.

Fishlegs nodded. "But really, Hiccup, Astrid, can you do something about this?"

Astrid huffed. "Fine. Toothless, what do you think you're doing? That's not right!"

The dragon-turned-rider slackened his insufficient grip around the wide neck and his shoulders drooped.

"Whew, thanks, Astrid," Fishlegs said, breathing a deep sigh of relief.

"That's not how you choke someone," she continued scoldingly. "You gotta wrap your entire arm around and pull from your back. Ya, that's it, and use your hand to grab the inside of the elbow on your other arm– yeah, nice."

"HRK– Not helping," Fishlegs gasped. He eventually backed up into Meatlug, who had just fluttered to a landing next to him, squishing Toothless and sending him wheezing and tumbling to the ground.

"Why's it always violence with you?" he asked Astrid in frustration.

She shrugged. "It's not violence. It's communication!"

Toothless picked himself up, snorted at Fishlegs, and walked over to Hiccup, who recoiled at the smell of his breath. "Your fault," Toothless said, pointing at Fishlegs.

"I guess that explains the _real_ reason Hiccup doesn't eat eel anymore," Astrid idly said. "I recall he used to love the stuff."

"It was for science!" Fishlegs said indignantly. "Understanding demands experimentation."

"And what if someone doesn't like said experiments?" Astrid asked.

Fishlegs punched a fist into his hand. "Progress sometimes demands sacrifice!"

The Night Fury and his rider rounded on Fishlegs and growled.

"Uhh, I think it's time to go," Fishlegs squeaked to his dragon.

Toothless and Hiccup both lunged at Fishlegs, and even Astrid could tell it was all in play, but they tripped over each other, not that Fishlegs noticed as he vaulted his bulky frame into the saddle in record time and the pair took off.

Astrid chuckled as the Night Fury and rider untangled themselves. "Well, I suppose the race is on. Toothless, you bring Hiccup back safe and sound or I'll dunk you in a barrel of fresh eel." The rider glared at her. "Yes, that is a threat. Now go on, have fun, and don't forget to bring back that gemstone."

She turned at the sound of padding footsteps behind her to see the Zippleback with its riders already mounted up. "And _you_," she said scathingly, pointing an accusatory finger at Tuffnut, "get off lucky. _This_ time. Running off on me when I didn't know about the soul swap, when you could have helped explain it, was _not_ nice."

Tuffnut lost himself in laughter, wheezing between breaths, "You shoulda seen yourself, though. When you walked in and saw us dancing, you just stood there all like–" he dropped his jaw and made a mocking face.

Astrid sighed and said, "Stormfly..."

The dragon chirped and shot a gout of white-hot fire just over Tuffnut's head."

"Ah! Careful!" Tuffnut shouted as he ducked. "Somebody could get hurt. Wait, was that a warning shot or did you just miss?"

A quill flew to knock his helmet off his head. "Nevermind! Fly away, BB, they're angry!"

"No, stay," Ruffnut said. "I wanna see my bro get turned into a pincushion."

The two heads of the Zippleback looked back and forth at their two riders in confusion, but a sinister glare from Astrid sent it lunging over the cliff and flapping in the sky without hesitation.


	8. Big Pill to Swallow

**A/N:**  
I know what you're thinking. "It's about time you posted, Fizz. Three weeks?! Really? What am I not paying you for?" I'm back on track, though, with a new chapter ready for my beta BEFORE posting the current one. Anyway, thanks for reading and especially thank you to those who review or PM. I love hearing from ya!

Dragonrider's Fury, thanks for dropping a line. Plenty more chaos and craziness to come, I assure you.

Toothlessgolfer, Oops, yeah, back to the cave as you suspected. I try to keep my narration terse, but maybe I should mentions such details lol.

Epclaymore, I'm not sure if I am physically capable of writing a story without throwing in at least one dream sequence. It's just such a potent storytelling mechanism!

**Big Pill to Swallow**

Over the years, one thing Hiccup had noticed about every dragon rider was that they always enjoyed flying, if not from the first flight with their dragon, then after they learned to conquer their fear of falling. However, while those first few flights would always be unfathomably scary and exhilarating, the intensity would eventually fade. Flying would always be fun, but after months or years, it would lose that feeling of taking a leap of faith.

Hiccup noticed it even in himself too. Sure, he always had to check if the saddle, tailfin, or rigging was too frayed and weak – his first lesson on that above the clouds was the last one he ever needed – but that thrill of flying between islands was never quite as intense as in those old days before they took down the Red Death.

However, as he flapped _his_ wings, twisted _his_ tail, adjusted _his_ tailfin, and felt _his_ rider adjust its counterpart, he felt that heart-stopping thrill again. When he was a rider, flying was a game of "Follow the Leader", but now that he was a dragon, it was like balancing on a floating log, always teetering on the edge of disaster, always reassessing and finding his balance, and _that_ was while flying in a straight line in good weather. Add to that a rider who, despite being the master of flight his whole life, wasn't used to using a foot to control a tailfin, and the balancing act on the wobbly log suddenly became more interesting.

And yet, despite all that, Hiccup couldn't help but feel amazed at how easily he could focus on the things around him without losing focus on his flying. It was almost a passive act, as natural as breathing, to be able to notice and contemplate everything he saw and heard, to be fully attentive to the conversation around him – not just their words, but the emotions and other subtle signs he could pick up – and recall every moment in immaculately perfect detail later to comb through it at his leisure.

For example, when Fishlegs commented on how smooth and natural Hiccup's flying had become, Hiccup had replied – with Meatlug relaying his projected thoughts to her rider – that an uneventful flight was a good thing in his book. It wasn't until later that Hiccup realized just how strange it must have been for a dragon, who typically conveyed thoughts in every way _except_ with words, to somehow mash a figure of speech into his projection, or how such an expression didn't quite fit someone in the body of a dragon. He had noticed that Fishlegs paused ever-so-slightly as his dragon relayed that projected thought to him, and that the emotions carried on Tuffnut's hum indicated that he thought that was amusing, but he didn't say anything about it.

It wasn't worth revisiting, though, since the conversation had already shifted back to what it had been for the entire flight, which was Fishlegs hardly pausing for breath to ask question after question, like "Toothless, on a scale of one to twenty, how would you rate yourself now in terms of being easily provoked?"

Toothless hummed in thought about that. "Not as hard to control feelings," he said. "Rage not push into mind as hard. Not see one threaten Firefly yet, so not sure. Hrrrr… Ten?"

"That's amazing!" Fishlegs said. "That's half compared to when you were a dragon."

Hiccup instantly reached the implication there. _{The highest is twenty. His book says there is no other creature as easily provoked as you when you were in your normal body.}_

Toothless crossed his arms. "I not that easy make mad."

Ruffnut awkwardly coughed and Tuffnut avoided Toothless' eyes as he cast about for some support.

"Well, you've always been…" Fishlegs started to say, but he faded off. "What I'm trying to say is that, well, you've always been kinda… Ya know, whenever someone does something you don't like, your response is always very... Toothless."

"I not know what you mean," Toothless insisted. To Hiccup's surprise, he could detect only honesty there.

"Says the one who tried to strangle me to death this morning," Fishlegs groused.

Toothless huffed at that. "I not get mad. I get even."

"You and Astrid both!"

Toothless smiled. "She is most dragon-like land-strider!"

"Nevermind," Fishlegs said, waving it off. "On a scale of one to twenty, how would you rate your memory?"

"You know," Toothless said. "You see Meatlug share memory. She crack egg. Alive then, remember then. All details, though blind and deaf. Only feel and smell… after coughing stuff out. Dragon never forget anything." He smirked. "You not remember her name sometimes."

Fishlegs flushed. "It was only _one time_ that I forgot her name. And I was…" he paused in thought. "indisposed. I'm curious about you, though, because Meatlug has always been a dragon and still is, but not so with you."

"Hrrrr," Toothless growled, "I not know. Ten?"

"Let's try this. Can you recall… oh… how many Vikings were on the ship with you when you were sailed to dragon island?"

Toothless made a face. "Rrrr, happy memory that is." He then grinned. "I say what not so! I do sarcasm!" He sobered and frowned in thought. "Rrrr, seven? Yes, seven."

Fishlegs blinked. "Alright, I wasn't there, so I don't know why I asked that question. How about this. How many fireballs did you shoot at the Red Death that day you fought her?"

"Stupid name!" Toothless snipped.

"Whatever. Can you recall how many?"

"Rrrrr, one, two, four, seven… eight. Eight?"

Surprisingly, though Hiccup wasn't really paying attention, he could instantly recall every detail of every moment, including every time he had hunched down and closed his eyes in anticipation of one of Toothless' fireballs shooting out and exploding.

_{Nine fireballs, by the way}._

"I had to update your shot count, and I think it was nine, right?" Fishlegs asked. "Oh, thanks Meatlug, if Hiccup says it's nine…" His eyes suddenly bugged out. "I wasn't going to go there yet, but Hiccup, your dragon mind is helping you remember little details?"

_{Yes, I was there. Of course I remember what happened.}_

"... Huh…" Fishlegs said, clearly lost in thought, but he quickly shook himself back to the present. "Alright, Toothless, and how many fireballs did you shoot at Drago's Bewilderbeast on Berk?"

"One, four, five, rrrrrr, nine… Eleven."

_{Well, technically, ten fired at the Bewilderbeast, not including the one to break apart the solid chunk of ice we were trapped in.}_

Hiccup was astonished to realize that he instantly knew the answer to that. The memories flowed like a gust of wind, and details instantly came together to tell him what he wanted to know. The things were seen with his human eyes and the memories were stored in his human mind, but every detail of every person and object was as clear as if he was seeing it in the moment. Hmmm...

"Rrrr, I see but not know, think but not remember!" Toothless fumed in frustration. Hiccup crooned consolingly and his rider instantly calmed down.

"So, we'll say thirteen out of twenty for recollection."

"One!" Toothless insisted. "Or lower. What less than one? Zero?"

"Pah, that's a myth," Tuffnut insisted. "Don't believe the lies."

"That not make sense," Toothless said. "What if you stand on ground, then how high are you?"

Fishlegs opened his mouth to respond, but Ruffnut cut him off with a roll of her eyes. "Well, you wouldn't be any high at all, so it's an invalid question. Duh! It's like asking what type of dragon I am when I'm not a dragon in the first place."

"But–" Fishlegs started to say.

"What if you have half mug of ale and drink half mug?" Toothless asked.

"Then–" Fishlegs started to say.

"Easy!" Tuffnut crowed. "You'd have a mug and that's it. Except there would be some still stuck to the insides, so you'd get your tongue in there and lick it up. Then people look at you like you're weird, so you cluck like a chicken until they ignore you so you can take _their_ mug, and now you have a full mug. Problem solved!"

"But–" Fishlegs started to say.

Ruffnut shrugged and said, "I mean, if you wanted to try to force such a notion as a number, which means something, to represent nothing, then I guess you'd have zero cheese in the mug, and zero dragons, and zero brains."

"But–" Fishlegs started to say.

"I mean, you don't want to have zero brains, right Fishlegs? So how can zero be a number unless you have zero brains?"

Fishlegs stammered, "But… That… You're just trying to confuse me!"

Hiccup yawned. He had zero clues why he was even listening to this chatter.

########

* * *

########

Hiccup arrived at the island where all this trouble started, and he was proud of himself for almost not landing so hard that his legs buckled and his belly painfully smacked against the ground.

He wanted to "look" inside the cave, and by simply willing it, his sensor lobes flared and felt around for anything he could pick up inside. If there was any living creature, it would be throwing off some sort of mental hum that he would be able to pick up. Yesterday, when he landed on Berk, he almost had a panic attack at the unfathomable deluge of information he was picking up from so many people without even trying, but he settled down when he realized it wasn't overwhelming to his new dragon brain.

The cave was home to nothing alive that Hiccup could sense aside from little critters that he could somehow identify as rats.

They took a few steps in, Hiccup leading the way, but Fishlegs said, "Hold up." He rummaged through his saddlebag and pulled out a torch. "Hey, Hiccup, can I get a light?"

Hiccup stared at him for a moment. Right, dragons could breathe fire, and not everyone could see in the dark like a Night Fury. Meatlug couldn't light the torch because hurling a glob of molten lava wasn't exactly useful or safe. Asking the Zippleback to light the torch would be explosively unproductive.

Hookfang could simply spit out a little puddle of burning fuel, but he was unavailable as he was out with Snotlout on… something… Valka said it was an "important task" she sent him on when Astrid's water broke, just to keep him out of trouble. Even after Hiccup had married Astrid, Snotlout would still flex and leer around her, and it was always quite awkward. Astrid had her bets that he might become so desperate he might even start chasing after Valka, as stupid as that sounded.

Fishlegs wiggled the torch and Hiccup shook himself back to the moment. "I've seen Toothless breathe out a narrow plume of fire before, Hiccup. Is that something you can't do right now?"

Hiccup grunted and figured he'd give it a shot, so he tried to feel around inside his mouth and neck to make it happen. Suddenly, he felt something open, and the fuel started to flow into his mouth. It just felt right, and it took him a moment to realize that he was emitting a banshee shriek that was building in intensity–

"No!" Toothless shouted as he lunged to hug Hiccup's maw. "Stop! Swallow!"

Hiccup froze, forcing himself to stop whatever it was he was doing, and swallowed the nasty stuff. It made him want to vomit.

_So this is how it felt when I stopped him from killing my dad in the Kill Ring._

"I'll get a flint," Fishlegs sighed as he turned to rummage through his saddlebag.

A moment later, after some scraping and muttering, he managed to get the torch lit. Barf lowered its head to offer to hold it, and Fishlegs let the dragon grab it in its teeth. The head rose up near the ceiling of the tunnel, which wasn't that high, to cast the light farther without blinding anyone.

Hiccup knew that must have been the head that felt like being kind and charitable for now, as the other head would always be haughty and aggressive. That was a constant, that the two heads would behave differently, but they would frequently switch roles with no discernable pattern. To make matters even more confusing, even with all the resources Hiccup had at his disposal to communicate with dragons, he still couldn't make heads or tails of whether the dragon had one or two minds, and they both sounded the same to him but different at the same time.

They moved through the cave, caution clashing with excitement.

"Hey, Toothless," Fishlegs whispered, "on a scale of–"

"No," Toothless huffed in irritation. "You ask a hundred questions already." Technically, it was only nineteen, but Hiccup wasn't counting until just now when he almost instantly reviewed the entire flight over.

"Hmm, that would be a solid eighteen, then," the rotund rider muttered. Hiccup didn't even want to know what trait Fishlegs had just evaluated.

It didn't take long for them to find the chamber with the gemstone on the pedestal that had forced his soul into a dragon's body. Everyone rushed up to it as they entered the room, eager to lay their eyes on the mysterious artifact.

"Huh, well, I guess that's that," Tuffnut said.

"Yep, boring," Ruffnut sighed. "Time to go home, I guess."

"I see nothing wrong with–" Fishlegs started to say, until he noticed the expression on the twins.

Tuffnut scoffed. "But it's so anticlimactic! I was hoping it woulda been swiped by somebody and we'd have to track it down. Ya know, maybe interrogate some people, get captured by dragon trappers and figure out how to break free, the fun stuff!"

Fishlegs rolled his eyes and then nosed in to carefully examine the gemstone that was resting in its cupped stone hands. "I'll pass on that, thank you very much. I suppose, just for the sake of thoroughness, let's try having Hiccup and Toothless touch the stone to see if it puts you back in the right place? Now that it's had some time to rest… maybe?"

Tuffnut stared at it, stroking his chin. "Hey, Ruff, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

They looked at each other and grinned, then they rushed toward the gemstone, hands outstretched. Fishlegs quickly plucked them up by the scruff of their coats and said, "No! Bad Nuts!"

"Aw!"

"Spoilsport."

"Killjoy."

Fishlegs sighed as they thrashed and kicked in futility. "Hiccup, Toothless, just give it a shot before they do."

Hiccup approached the stone and nosed it as Toothless placed a palm on it. Nothing happened. Licking it made no difference – for either of them.

"... And?" Fishlegs asked.

Suddenly, the one-legged rider smiled widely and proudly declared, "It work! I Hiccup again!"

"Ugh! So boring!" Tuffnut said.

Fishlegs' eyes practically popped out of his head. "Really?! It worked? Hiccup, that's really you?!"

"Of course it worked," Ruffnut sighed. "I kinda miss the whole 'Toothless is Hiccup' gig."

"Hmm," Tuffnut drawled out, "doesn't quite roll off the tongue if ya know what I mean, sis."

Ruffnut brightened. "We could shorten it to Too–"

Fishlegs slapped a hand over each of their faces. "That's enough of your silliness!" He let out a wistful sigh. "I must admit, though, I will miss all the experiments I planned to carry out. Hiccup, Toothless, you're really back in your original bodies?"

"Yes! It work! I Hiccup and–"

Hiccup smacked his rider with his tail, sending him sprawling out on the ground where he laughed raucously. Toothless paused to look at Fishleg's glare, which only threw his hysteria to new heights.

Fishlegs dropped the twins. "Ha. Ha. Ha. So. Funny." He sighed. "If it didn't work, then I guess we copy the writing on the walls and take the stone home. Maybe Gobber or Gothi can figure something out."

"But we've hardly tried to use the soul-swapping stone again," Ruffnut whined.

"What else is there to do?" Fishlegs asked.

"Swallow it! Duh!"

Fishlegs crossed his arms. "Why would Hiccup eat the stone?"

"Why would he _not_ eat the stone?"

The two stared at each other. "I must admit, my sister's logic makes sense," Tuffnut said

"Aww, thanks Bro."

"With this unprecedented event, we should also check if Helheim has melted while we're at it."

Ruffnut glared at him and he cringed.

Fishlegs shared a look of longsuffering with Hiccup before he pulled out a notebook and charcoal pencil from his saddlebag and started copying the various runes and drawings, tongue sticking out in concentration. Hiccup padded up to him and nosed his arm.

_{You do realize you're surrounded by dragons, right?}_

The rotund rider didn't even pause in his work. "Yes…"

_{And dragons have a perfect memory?}_

"Uh… huh…"

_{And it would take only an instant for us to see every marking on every wall?}_

"Mmm… hmmm…"

_{And you can see what we've seen at any time in the future for reference?}_

Fishlegs suddenly froze and his eyes bugged out. His pencil and notebook dropped to the ground.

"Oh," he squeaked out. "I never thought of that, but you're right!"

"So, wait, lemme get this straight," Tuffnut said, "For the past four years, ever since we learned we could hear dragons, all our time spent writing stuff was a waste of time? We could have always just said, 'Hey, you there, dragon, listen to this story so you can recite it to people word-for-word in your magical thought projections'?"

Hiccup thought about that for a moment. It actually made sense. Humans would provide inventiveness and dragons would provide perfect memory, not just of words but of images, sounds, smells, everything. Even though a dragon wouldn't live forever, all that information could be quickly shared with the next generation of dragons. Such a feat had already been pulled off by the dragons that Berk used to capture and trap in the Kill Ring for dragon training. For three hundred years, bits of knowledge were acquired over time, and as long as there was always one surviving dragon, he could pass on all that knowledge to the next ones to be captured and thrown in there.

He stared with crossed eyes, jaw hanging, limply nodding.

Fishlegs' chin was bobbing up and down, but he finally managed to say, "So, you're saying that dragons can be, like, our own… uhhh... 'personal dragon assistant'? I dunno, sounds kinda derogatory, then people will just call them PDAs.

Tuffnut snickered at that. "Can I attend your birthday celebration? Hmm, let me check my PDA. Hey, Barf, is anything else going on two days from now?"

"Well that's just great," Ruffnut said, throwing her hands up. "And now petty mortals like me who aren't dragon whisperers will be left in the dark."

"Eh, don't worry, you have your magnificent brother to guide the way."

Ruffnut socked Tuffnut, sending him into the wall to ooze to the ground.

"I suppose it does make sense, though," Fishlegs said. "Alright, Hiccup, Meatlug, BB, if you wouldn't mind sharing later, could I ask you to take a look at all the markings on the walls?"

Hiccup had already looked at every bit of every surface and was thinking about it all. A lot of it was in languages he didn't know. By comparing all that he saw on the walls against all the books that had ever passed under his eyes when trading with Johann, he recognized some of the languages to be French, Greek, and Latin, but he had no understanding of what any of it said, and there were other languages he had never seen before.

There were some crude drawings of two people with some sort of marking between them, presumably indicating the swapping of souls, and in one drawing, it was a man and a dog. Poor dog. Or maybe it was a wolf? Or a yak? The drawing wasn't exactly… good.

Still, it was encouraging to know that this had happened to past generations, which would explain why the local populace was taught that this cave was cursed and haunted. If this soul swap had happened before, it could happen again, which would surely reverse what was done, right?

Right?

There was a little bit of Norse on the walls, like a short statement about touching the stone to walk in another man's boots. Then there was something confirming Gobber's theory that the metaphorical bucket had been emptied and would need to be refilled. A short statement suggested that it was the sunlight conveniently falling on the stone through a crack in the cave ceiling, or "sky light" as it was phrased.

The writing mentioned a certain figure. One hundred. A hundred days in the body of a dragon before he could go back to having opposable thumbs would make the transition just as jarring and…

No, not a hundred days, but a hundred cycles… of the sun… Oh, so a hundred days then. No, no, there was also a mention of seasons, and a snippet about years passing with no activity from the stone...

Hiccup's jaw dropped.

A hundred seasons?! That would be twenty-five years! He would be an old man by then!

No, no, not a hundred seasons. There was that cycle, there. Someone had marked and tracked the passage of not just the individual seasons but the _cycle_ of the seasons, hence the mention of the sun too.

Hiccup flopped to the ground and thrashed around wildly, whining loudly. It would take a hundred years to "refill the bucket".

"What is it, boy?" Fishlegs asked, his eyes wide with concern. "Err, I mean, Hiccup."

Toothless crouched over Hiccup's head and he stilled. "What make Firefly sad? Tell Toothless."

Toothless pressed his hand to Hiccup's head and Hiccup shared his epiphany.

Toothless flopped to the ground and thrashed around wildly, whining loudly. "Hundred!" he howled. "Long time! Not like!"

"What's a hundred what?" Ruffnut asked.

It took some time, but Hiccup and Toothless eventually stopped writhing around in grief and managed to compose themselves enough to communicate what they had learned.

"So, let me get this straight," Tuffnut said. "It'll take a hundred years for this stone to do its soul-swapping thing again? Aw, man, I was gonna use it to Loki someone like they've never been Loki'd before! Now I gotta find a woman and make children so they can carry on my mission."

A certain Night Fury and his rider glared and snarled at Tuffnut.

Fishlegs mused, "But if we have to wait a hundred years to use this thing again, that would make Hiccup– err, his body…"

"I believe the scientific term would be 'dead'," Ruffnut tossed in sullenly.

"Hiccu…ps body, at least," Fishlegs said, "but what of Toothless, I wonder – I mean his Night Fury body? How long do dragons live?"

That was an unknown among even the dragons themselves. Hiccup had heard from the dragons that came from the Red Death's nest about how their overlord culled the population around the age of thirty, as their minds would start to grow resilient to her control with the passage of time. The oldest dragon they knew about was Gothi's Terrible Terror, Nose, who was a subject in Gobber's "Dragon training" class for twelve years before Hiccup ended the dragon war. The Terror had once shared about how he was the eldest because he was captured around thirty years old, and if it wasn't for that, the Red Death would have soon ordered him to fly into her maw before he would become too rebellious.

No, Hiccup suddenly realized that Nose wasn't actually the eldest anymore. Cloudjumper got lucky when he "woke up" from the mind snare during a raid. The Red Death had been a little laxer back then, and the dragon was able to pull himself out of the mind snare all by himself. That was the night he snatched up Valka and flew her off, so that would have been when Hiccup wasn't even a year old, still in the crib. Therefore, Cloudjumper was about thirty when he flew off twenty years ago, making him fifty years old and the eldest of all dragons known to Hiccup.

Hiccup looked at Meatlug and Barf and Belch. _{Do either of you know if Cloudjumper would be considered old? Would he be in the latter half of his life expectancy?}_

Both dragons responded with a noncommittal projection of uncertainty. Nobody knew what constituted "old" for a dragon. Neither Nose nor Cloudjumper were showing any visible signs of age in their scales, hide, energy levels, or appetite. It was known that dragons started mating around fifteen years old, but if their minds started to resist the Red Death's control at thirty, maybe that was a sort of mental puberty for them, and they could live to be hundreds of years old? Maybe even thousands? It was something Hiccup never thought about. The one time someone had brought it up, Toothless sat on Hiccup until he promised that they would both die together in a blaze of glory before either of them died of old age to leave the other behind and lonely.

Head hung, tail dragging, Hiccup started to slowly plod his way out of the cavern, Toothless clenching one of his sensor lobes. Behind him, he could hear everyone jogging to catch up.

"Hiccup…" Fishlegs started to say.

"Sorry, dude," Tuffnut said forlornly.

"Maybe Hiccup's wrong," Ruffnut said hopefully. "Maybe he misunderstood?"

"No," Fishlegs said. "I checked the writing with my own eyes. And Meatlug's. It really says… Oh Hiccup, I'm sorry."

"Maybe it's the start of a new life?" Tuffnut suggested.

Nobody answered him.


	9. Rebound

**A/N:  
**Dragonrider's Fury, you may be onto something, but I dunno, leaving Hiccup and Toothless like this forever does sound fun. :P Oh, and you can thank Deadly-Bagel for the PDA skit.

Toothlessgolfer, I'm glad to see the change in Hiccup's and Toothless's behavior is coming across. We'll be getting even more of that here. Oh, and you're on the right track with the sky light.

Epclaymore, we're at least halfway done. I'm thinking, in a couple chapters, the stone gets lost or something, and Hiccup learns that Night Furies can live for a long time. Man, I just can't wait until I get to the part where I do some big time skips and Hiccup makes some sneaky appearances to various historical figures to make them do the right thing. My favorite is when he inspires Abraham Lincoln to change his stance on the American Civil War from being about the powers of State to a matter of slavery to prevent intervention from other countries. That clever little Night Fury.

* * *

**Rebound**

Many of the details of motherhood were already known by Astrid long before she even became pregnant. It wasn't like she was flying blind – which was something both she and her dragon had taken turns doing at times. There was the crying, and the cradling, and the cooing, and cleaning up the messes, and washing the rags to clean up the next mess. All of that was well and good.

However, nobody talked about the soreness. As Astrid held her just-nourished child to her shoulder, her arm supporting him also pressed against her tender skin, she used her other hand to gently pat his back to burp him.

The door to her home opened and a humming Valka came in with a smile on her face. "How's it going, my dear?" Valka asked.

Astrid straightened her tunic and gave an exaggerated groan. "I've been bitten by a Terror, kicked by a yak, flattened by a Gronckle, mauled by a Night Fury, but… _this_ is _unbearable_! I swear he grows fangs when I'm feeding him!"

The mother-in-law tsked. "You've had him for only three days."

"Just kill me now!"

"I have good news, then," Valka said as she took the child from Astrid, who sank into a chair by the table with a groan and a shake of her arms. "I got your cousin to agree to help you out as a wet nurse. Her youngest is over two, after all, practically tearing meat off the bone."

Astrid stared in disbelief. "Thyri?! Last I checked, she was grumpy at me for having helped Hiccup overthrow our tradition of murdering dragons for sport, even though she herself rides one."

Valka casually waved it off. "Oh, I had a talk with her. Well, Cloudjumper and I had a talk with her _Nadder_, who ended up, shall we say, _leaning_ on Thyri to agree. Yes, one might say her dragon was… _nipping_… at the bud to help the rider of a fellow Nadder."

Astrid flopped down over the table. "I worship you, Valka!"

"And in other news, Hiccup is back."

Astrid instantly sobered and straightened in her chair. "Any luck?" She didn't really hold out for much hope of an immediate solution.

Valka sighed. "They're as they were yesterday, but Gobber and Gothi are now fighting over who gets to examine that strange gemstone first."

"May the gods have mercy on Gobber because Gothi won't," Astrid said with a smile. "Is there anything new that we know?"

"Yes. Left on its pedestal in the cave, with the sun shining on it through a hole in the ceiling, the writings they saw on the walls said the metaphorical bucket would refill after time."

Astrid paused and stared at Valka, mulling that over. "How long?" She hoped it wouldn't be too long or Hiccup would take it hard on himself. He had already made it clear that, in his eyes, he was "letting down a goddess" with Astrid having to raise their child with a husband who could do little more than act as a guard dog… or guard dragon.

Valka shifted the child and avoided eye contact with Astrid. After a long pause, she apologetically said, "A hundred years."

Astrid's jaw dropped. Her fists clenched. "A… A _hundred_... _years_?! But by then he'd be–"

Valka solemnly nodded. Nothing needed to be said. Hiccup was forever a dragon for all it mattered. As a dragon, he would watch his child grow up, his wife grow old, and if a Night Fury could outlast a human, everyone he ever loved would die before his eyes.

Astrid knew without a doubt how he would take this.

"He needs me," she said. _Immediately if not sooner_, she added to herself.

"He's already looking into it," Valka said. "As a dragon, he's memorized every rune written on the walls of that chamber, whether he can read it or not, and he and the gang are looking through our tribe's library to see what they can piece together."

"No, that's not it," Astrid said. "I know my husband. He needs me." There was no doubt about that.

She held out her hands for her child.

Valka nodded. "I'll come with you."

########

* * *

########

In recent years, before Stoick's unfortunate demise, Astrid had spent evenings with him and Hiccup. The chief delighted in telling embarrassing stories about Hiccup as he grew up, sharing laughs with Astrid as they pushed the limits of how red his face could get. When Astrid told Stoick about her first ride on a dragon after having discovered Toothless in the cove, Hiccup had engaged in a staring contest with the floor, but Stoick slapped his son on the shoulder and shouted, "Atta boy! I knew I'd raised a son who'd take the dragon by the horns instead of waiting for good fortune to come to him!"

Once, though, in a moment of somberness, the chief told about Hiccup's birth and those first few days. He spoke about how his knees turned to butter as he looked down at his child for the first time and held him in his hand. There was no doubt, even though his child was born early and small, he would kill for his child. He would die for his child.

He shared about the night Valka was snatched away during a dragon raid. The dragons had left, the village was on fire, the few remaining cattle were scattered abroad, and the dead were still being counted. Stoick had deep reservations about his actions that night, mainly the one decision that secured his child's safety and his wife's demise. That night, he realized that every time he saw his child, he would hear Valka crying out for help as she was flown off to her fate. Driven by grief and doubt, he held his child over the edge of a cliff and willed his hand to tip the the thing into the abyss below.

He couldn't, of course, and while he would afterwards talk about honor and the will of the gods, he confided in Hiccup and Astrid that there was only one thing that stilled his hand. Only this single thought, and absolutely nothing else, was sufficient to stop him from doing something he would have regretted for the rest of his life.

It was _his_ child.

The night before Hiccup and Toothless had flown back to retrieve the strange gemstone that had changed them, when they were relaxing in the Great Hall, Astrid had studied Hiccup while he looked at their child through the eyes of a Night Fury. She could see how conflicted he felt, and she felt whispers of it when she touched him and could peek at the thoughts he was projecting – probably without realising it.

Dragons did not behave like humans. Their thoughts and behavior and standards were so different. They would never help a hatchling that was too weak to break out of its egg, and their way of teaching a young dragon to fly was to carry it high up and drop it with no intent of catching it should it fail.

A male dragon would not have the deep bond with his offspring that Stoick had, and Hiccup's body knew that it was not _his_ offspring. His knees weren't turned to butter at the sight of his child, and his heart did not explode with love to touch and interact with the little thing in whatever ways a dragon could. He felt nothing, but he knew he should have felt _something_, and that bothered him deeply.

If there was any creature in Midgard who knew Hiccup best, it used to be a tie between Toothless and Gobber, but Astrid knew her husband better than he knew himself. He was a hopeless romantic at large, an idealist. A mind-numbing, gnawing frustration always arrived on the heels of a problem he could not fix. It was a silly habit of his, and he knew it, and Astrid loved him for it.

And he'd just learned that he would never be able to properly support his wife and child as only a man could. Ever.

The steps up to the Great Hall were numerous, and Astrid hastened up them, her child clutched tightly to her chest. Fortunately, It wasn't as hard as the last time with her strength returning every day. Valka shadowed her, as sprightly as ever, a goal of health and fitness in older matron years that Astrid vowed she would at least match.

One of the massive double doors was left open enough for Astrid to shimmy in, and she scurried towards the library.

Calling it a library was really a quaint anachronism according to traders from the mainland who would talk about large buildings with many rooms, all lined with tall shelves and crammed with tomes and books so high that ladders were sometimes needed. On Berk, it was more along the lines of a few rough-built shelves along a wall in a dark corner that had the footprints of only Fishlegs and a few others on the dusty ground.

Toothless was seated on a bench at a table near the shelves, hunched over a book. Hiccup was crouched behind him, neck stretched out so he could look at the pages over his rider's shoulder. He grunted in frustration as Toothless quickly flipped page after page, sometimes ripping them or tearing them from the bindings in his haste. They reached the end and Hiccup's nose sent it flying off the table to join a heap. Toothless took another from the stack on the end of the table and the process began anew.

Though Hiccup saw each page for only the briefest instant, Astrid knew that he could recall it at any time in the future to read, reread, and reflect upon. She also felt that it was a safe assumption that he probably could read as fast as they were tearing through the books.

However, one other thing she knew was that this was not right. This was not showing respect for the irreplaceable resources for the tribe. This certainly was not the Hiccup way of doing things.

"Hiccup," she called out as she approached them.

There was no sign of having been heard.

"Hiccup!"

Still, no acknowledgement of her presence save for Toothless flicking his eyes up to her for an instant before going back to the book in front of him. A black snout shoved it off to join the heap with a frustrated snort.

"Hiccup, look at me."

No response. Another book was pulled from the stack, the runes on it completely unrecognizable, and Toothless started to open it.

Astrid shifted her child to one arm and slammed her free hand against the wooden book cover, forcing it closed.

Two sets of green eyes locked onto hers.

"Firefly sad. Frustrate. Upset."

Astrid smiled at Toothless and nodded. "I know my husband well." Though Hiccup was keeping a calm outward composure, she knew he was furious and fuming within. Actually, as strange as it seemed, he was living up to his father's namesake with a face made of flint.

She shifted her gaze to Hiccup, and she didn't even need to touch him to hear the thoughts he might want to project to express himself, as she could sense the tension beneath the stiff exterior.

Last night, they had discussed their marriage situation. She had married a man, not a body, her soul bound to his. They had sworn an oath before the tribe and the gods that they would never betray each other's best interests or trust, and that commitment endured so long as they were both on Midgard.

It was the standard in Berk in any case. Once, a villager had begged Stoick to terminate his marriage, and Stoick's reply was to thrust a dagger into his hand and say, "We all heard your vow, and you know there's only one way out. Do it outside if you're _that_ desperate. I don't want your blood staining the Great Hall."

The man was not _that_ desperate.

Turning into a dragon would change a lot of the details, but it would not change the vows Hiccup and Astrid made to each other. Nothing ever would. They would find a way to make it work.

Toothless started to open the book, but Astrid slammed it shut again. "Toothless, you're not helping. Can you let us talk alone for a little bit?"

Toothless shifted uneasily in his seat. "Not smart."

Astrid smiled as she used her free hand to pick up one end of the table and pulled it back to widen the space between Toothless and the books, then sat down in front of him. "I'll be the judge of that."

Hiccup whined plantitively and eyed the books still on the stack.

Astrid simply shook her head. "Not now, Hiccup. This is not the proper way and you know it. Look at what you're doing to Toothless, taking advantage of his loyalty to you. Look at how harried he is by your demands. His eyes are bloodshot for Thor's sake!" She gestured to the books in the heap. "And this is not how a chief treats our tribal resources."

"Not help," Toothless said as he reached for a book, but Astrid smacked it away.

Hiccup whined at that, but Astrid just rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Hiccup, we're gonna organize these books again and go for a walk. You're a wreck, and it shows, and nothing good can come when you can't even think straight."

Hiccup whined insistently and Toothless reached for a book, but Astrid grabbed his arm just below the shoulder and shoved hard, sending him stumbling off the bench to his feet. Hiccup growled at that, but Astrid said, "Calm down, Hiccup. Get a grip on yourself!"

Toothless rushed forward, but Astrid put a foot to his stomach from her seated position and pushed, sending him stumbling backwards to trip over his own feet.

Hiccup growled louder at that, but Astrid grabbed the bridge of his nose and ground out, "I! Said! Calm! Dow–"

_Something_ happened. The first thing she realized was that her arms were extended above her head, her child clutched in her hands out of harm's way. Her next realization was that she was on her back with pain flaring from the back of her head, pinned under the paw of a snarling Night Fury, his weight pressing her into the table and driving the breath from her lungs. It was too late when she realized that there was a very good reason that the slit-pupiled stare from above turned her veins to ice.

Off to the side, she saw Valka move, and a loud smack sounded out as the staff impacted the snout. Hiccup dug his claws into the table and leaped sideways at her, overturning the table in the process, and Astrid instinctively pulled her child in close and landed in a crouch as the table beneath her crashed onto its side. She straightened to see Hiccup crouched low, hissing and snarling, rapidly flicking his eyes between her and Valka.

The way he snarled and whined, claws constantly scraping at the stone on which he stood, It was clear that there was an intense war being waged behind his eyes between the reservations of the peaceful Hiccup and the explosively violent rage of a Night Fury.

Astrid gestured with a tilt of her head, hands preoccupied with sheltering her child. "Out. Forest. Now!"

Instantly, Hiccup bolted off, shrieking and roaring. He shot headlong into the closed doors, crumpled into a heap, then a quick swipe of the paw and flick of the handle between his teeth allowed him to rush out.

########

* * *

########

Toothless had to give Astrid some credit. Though she tipped Firefly over the threshold, she quickly recognized her error afterwards. It was her own fault for dealing with the situation the way she did, in a way that was so Astrid, but with Firefly gone, she had the meekness and presence of mind to ask Toothless what she did wrong, why it was wrong, and what signs she should have noticed.

Of course, Toothless knew exactly what had happened. Firefly felt as if he had greatly wronged his dragon and his mate, that it was all his fault, and he would not be convinced otherwise – he was stubborn like that. The dragon wanted to take action on the strong feelings boiling inside, and the only peaceful way to do so was to allow him to chase after knowledge in those dusty bits of hides the land-striders called "books". While he wasn't sure if they would find anything useful, it did keep Firefly occupied, and Toothless could feel the rage in his dragon eventually starting to fade, but Astrid sure disrupted that in no time at all.

It was all behind him, now. Astrid was unharmed save a bump on the back of the head from the pounce. She had groaned, "Whether it's you or Hiccup in that body, it's always the back of the head." Firefly was rampaging through the forest, probably sprinting up and down trees, chasing and eating every critter he saw, tearing off branches and shredding trunks. It was something Toothless had done on occasion when he wanted to knead his claws through someone's insides but he couldn't bring himself to deny his Firefly a peaceful resolution to a heated situation.

It would be a while until Firefly would have completely worked out his rage, and he would no doubt come back only when he was so thoroughly exhausted that he could barely drag himself back. So, Toothless decided to make good use of the time by catching up on some desperately needed sleep, and there would be no better place than Firefly's wooden cave – or "house" as the land-striders called it.

Back when he was a dragon, he had watched his rider sleep plenty of times, so he knew how to properly sleep as a land-strider. While the riders didn't have a "bed" to sleep on like other land-striders – so that their dragons could curl up with them – they did have hairy hides to hide under to keep warm when a dragon wasn't available. It was just one more way in which land-striders made everything complicated, even something as simple as sleeping.

He flopped down, pulled a hide over himself, and curled up with an arm tucked under his head. He was surprised at how tired he really was because his next conscious thought was a groggy irritation at having woken up. He just had a very intense dream where he was… He had… There was a… Something happened and…

He blinked in surprise at how his amazing land-strider mind so effortlessly lost its grip on whatever he was dreaming of only a moment ago. The more he tried to hold onto the details of his dream the more they inevitably slipped away.

He groaned and tried to go back to sleep, but the loud pounding on the door probably would not stop until the land-strider on the other side was dealt with in some way. So, he stretched and stumbled to his feet to stumble towards the door.

"Hello, is anyone in there?" the land-strider outside shouted through the door. It took Toothless a moment to place that voice, as it was the first time he heard it with land-strider ears, but that was definitely Cougar. His dragon named him that because he was arrogant and boastful, but he sometimes displayed a certain brilliance in a fight, sometimes because his opponents could be caught by surprise when he did something no sane person would ever consider.

Cougar pounded on the door again. "Hey, it's me, Snotlout. Ya know, the great Snotster? Valka? Hiccup? Toothless?"

Toothless lifted the latch and pushed the door open. He blinked at the sunlight to see–

A demon.

A monster.

He saw the most miserable creature that tormented him for his whole life.

"Oops, did I step on you?" the monster sneered.

Toothless scrambled up and ran away, but something snared his legs and he fell. "Only cowards run."

Fingers roughly grabbed his hair, tearing a pained scream from his throat if not his hair from his head. "C'mon, fight back!"

His head was pressed against a wall and a fist impacted his temple, sending him to the ground with the world spinning around.

"Pathetic!"

An impact to the soft belly could be felt, knocking the air out of him.

"That's what you get for being a weakling!"

A rib was broken by another hit.

"Runt!"

The monster grabbed a handful of his tunic and lifted him up to head-butt his nose. Toothless tasted blood.

"Loser!"

A boot pressed his cheek into the mud, and he begged for mercy. His pleas were unheeded.

"Useless!"

Something snapped in Toothless. No more running! No more hiding! Blood for blood!

He leaped at his adversary with the intent to kill. An arm warded him off, but he managed to bite down on said arm. However, something slammed into the side of his head and he fell to his knees, clutching his throbbing head.

As he struggled to his feet, panting, he suddenly stopped, as had the monster. No, not a monster. It was only Cougar. Well, Snotlout, if one went by his land-strider name, which Toothless suddenly realized he had done for everyone except his precious Firefly.

"Bloody Hel!" Snotlout shouted at him as he rubbed at the trickling bite mark and shook his arm out. "I was gonna ask if what I had heard about you and Hiccup was true, but I suppose you just answered that for me."

Toothless thought about what just happened. It was… a dream? But he was awake. A waking dream?

It was Firefly's memories! Toothless groaned at the realization. He knew that Snotlout had tormented Firefly in his earlier years, but Firefly didn't hold a grudge, so Toothless hadn't torn Snotlout to shreds back when he was a dragon. It made no sense that seeing Snotlout could cause him to suddenly experience the beatings Firefly had endured, but then again, land-striders were very strange creatures.

"Is that really Toothless in there? And what was that for?!" Snotlout demanded.

Toothless pointed at Snotlout. "You hurt Firefly! He not can fight for self! You show dominance and still hurt him more after! You fend off but not let flee!"

Snotlout crossed his arms. "Are… you… talking about before Hiccup found you? The hazings me and the others would give him?"

Toothless could only stand and stare. He knew he wasn't thinking clearly, so he wasn't entirely making sense, and had no expectation of being understood. However, Snotlout had somehow made the right leap in logic.

"You understand?" Toothless asked uncertainly.

"Of course I do," Snotlout said. "Have you ever met my father? I was raised speaking shout-ese!" He rolled his eyes. "But really, Tooth? Our village was under siege by fire-spewing, fang-chomping dragons. We had no room at all for weaklings, especially weaklings who thought they could get away with inventing stuff that was causing even more damage than you dragons. Things changed, Hiccup turned out to be alright, but can you really blame me for putting him in his place at the time?"

"You bad!" Toothless screeched.

Snotlout rolled his eyes. "_I'm_ bad? Tell me, Mr. former Night Fury, while I was doing these things you didn't approve of, what were _you_ doing, huh? Where were _you_?"

Snotlout was right. Toothless shrunk inward. He was a thrall to the demonic queen at the time, mindlessly obeying her every whim.

_Fly here! Shoot fire at that! Kill that land-strider! Return to me! Submit!_

_Fly! Fight! Submit!_

_Fly! Fight! Submit!_

Toothless let out a tense sigh. Firefly could have easily been one of the black dragon's victims were he ever seen as a threat.

"Besides," Snotlout said, throwing his arms out, "it's me, Snotlout. Remember? Hiccup's hero? I saved his arse on Outcast island. You helped." He pointed to the bite mark on his arm, which had already stopped bleeding. "And what was _this_ supposed to do, huh?"

Slowly, almost timidly, Toothless said, "I see you hurt Firefly. Dream but not dream, not sleep but see things." He hung his head. "I want kill."

He wasn't at all prepared for Snotlout's response to that. The land-strider started laughing, and it grew in intensity until he fell to his knees and was eventually rolling on the ground, roaring in mirth. Eventually, he subsided to giggling as Toothless glared down at him.

He rolled up to his feet and pointed to the bite mark. "_This_ was your attempt to kill me?"

Toothless felt pressure in his face and he was worried that it was turning red.

"This is not an attempt to kill," Snotlout said. "This is you sticking your head out and saying, 'please chop it off while I am completely defenseless!'"

"If I dragon, you dead," Toothless insisted. "I not land-strider long."

It was something that had been gnawing on him, but he felt a strong flare of frustration at his inability to fight. It wasn't just that everything land-striders did for survival was unfathomably complicated, from eating to answering nature's call, but with no fire, no wings, no scales, and blunt teeth and claws, he couldn't help but feel frail and helpless.

Snotlout nodded. "Hmm, I see. You're as much a fighter as Fishlegs is boring, but you're stuck in this scrawny little body."

"Yes!" Toothless exclaimed, excited that _someone_ actually understood his frustration. He then realized the insult to his Firefly and snarled– launching into a coughing fit as a result. Land-striders couldn't even snarl properly. "Rrrrrr! I not even feel rage when mad!"

"Of course not!" Snotlout threw his arms out. "This is probably as close as you'll ever get to a whistling kettle, but you're in the body of a man whose definition of anger is shouting, 'Stop, or I'll get even more frustrated with you!'" He snickered at some thought. "I bet Hiccup can really do some damage now that he's in _your_ body, not that he ever would. I've seen you when you're good and mad. Hopefully Astrid doesn't do something stupid… and…"

He drifted off and grinned when Toothless started scratching the back of his neck and toeing the ground.

"Is she alive?" Snotlout asked.

Toothless nodded.

Snotlout snorted. "Typical Astrid. I still don't get what she sees in Hiccup. She needs someone who can speak her language." He slapped one heavy hand against the other in demonstration. "She's a fierce warrior, it hurts to watch her waste away with that scrawny–"

"RAAAAAAA!" Toothless cut him off with a leap forward, claws outstretched. Snotlout grabbed an arm with a painful twist, and when Toothless tried to bite, fingers wrapped around his neck and slammed him against a wall to crumple to the ground.

Snotlout groaned and held his forehead in dismay as Toothless scrambled to stand again, hacking for breath. "This just ain't right, seeing you like this, Tooth. It's painful to watch. Look, let's try this." He held up a hand, palm out. "Hit me."

Toothless stared at the hand, perplexed. Every other land-strider had a hard time accepting that it was really Toothless inside this lanky body, and when they did finally come to believe it, they always looked at Toothless as if he was an amusing oddity. However, Snotlout was different. His eyes held a sparkle of understanding for the brawler he was addressing and a certain respect for someone who was known to never back down from a fight.

"C'mon, before I die of old age," Snotlout said. "Only way to learn is to start throwing punches."

Toothless recognized this as something land-striders did to train their young. It seemed simple enough, and he genuinely appreciated that this was the first time a land-strider wanted to show him how to fight in a land-strider body. And Snotlout was literally asking for it. He curled his fingers into a fist, as he had seen other land-striders do in the past, and threw his hand forward.

"Owwwwww!" he howled in pain that shot through the base of his fingers. He flexed his fingers and inspected them. Nothing seemed to be broken, but that sure did hurt!

"Good lesson to learn before we have you hitting trees," Snotlout said with a grin. "Thumb on the outside, keep your hand aligned with your wrist. Yeah, that's it. Hit with those knuckles down there, not the ones further up." He held a hand out again. "Now, hit me."

Toothless snarled as he threw his fist forward. The impact felt a lot more satisfying and a lot less painful.

"Good!" Snotlout crowed. "Again!"

########

* * *

########

Hiccup stood shakily and panted as he surveyed the damage. Shredded bark and branches were strewn about. The forest floor was littered with kindling. His body burned from exhaustion.

A small tree, victim to Hiccup learning about his fire, suddenly gave up and fell over with a loud groan to smash into the ground in front of him. It left a silence broken only by the crackles of a few small fires, as if the forest itself was wary of invoking his temper.

He recalled having chased some squirrels and rabbits, continuing pursuit long after any reasonable carnivore would have given up. It wasn't the meat he was after, though he did give into the instincts to crunch down on them and swallow. The main point was to thoroughly drive out the blinding rage that had taken hold of him, to work himself to the point where he could barely stand, which felt oddly satisfying and indescribably fulfilling.

_This should be enough._

_I hope._

With a heroic effort, he moved his stiff legs to pat out the flames before walking towards the village, and as he neared the threshold, he felt around with his sensor lobes. As expected, his amazing senses could discern a vast array of information that would overwhelm his human mind, but he could pick out the general direction of Astrid's mental hum from the pathway between the Great Hall and their home, exuding a mix of anxiety and relief. Their child was upset at having had his sleep disrupted by something, but he quickly settled down.

Astrid caught her first sight of Hiccup as she neared the door to their home, and she stopped to stare. Hiccup scrunched inward on himself and whined, frozen in place, until Astrid flicked her head to gesture to follow.

They both froze, though, when they heard a thud from around the corner and Snotlout saying, "You were doing good until you kicked. Never kick. Now, get up and come at me again."

Toothless' voice drifted over. "Why no kick?"

"Feel that pain in the back of your leg? If you actually put any effort behind the kick, especially if you miss, imagine that pain but a hundred times worse, and now your leg is dangling like a worm on a hook and all you can do is flop on the ground like a fish. That's why you don't kick."

Astrid and Hiccup rounded the corner to see Toothless picking himself back up and raising his fists to face Snotlout, who was doing the same. Both were grinning, and Hiccup sensed a carefree exhilaration that wafted out from their mental hums.

"What…" Astrid started to ask, but words failed her.

Snotlout saw them and held a hand up to Toothless. "Hic, looks like you finally started working out and put on some muscle." He sniggered at his own joke while Hiccup rolled his eyes. "And Astrid, you look… different."

Astrid rolled her eyes and hefted her son. "These things happen."

"No, no, I mean… besides that…" Snotlout scratched his head, caught between arousal and envy.

"I'm up here, Snotlout."

Snotlout flicked his eyes at Astrid's. "Alright, I get it. And no need to growl at me, Hic."

Hiccup hadn't realized he was growling.

Snotlout casually leaned against the wall and crossed his arms across his chest, trying his best to hide the fact that he was tensing his muscles as much as possible. "Anyway, Astrid, if things go South between–" he stopped when Astrid started growling too.

Snotlout scratched the back of his neck and gave Toothless a slap on the shoulder. "C'mon, T, I'll show you how to put some meat on those bones."

As they walked off, Toothless said, "Remember when land-strider going to stab you in back, and I–" he tucked his head down and charged forward.

Snotlout ran ahead to catch up. "Yeah, head-butt. I'll teach you that properly or you'll just break your neck."

Hiccup stared after the departing pair, completely dumbstruck. Toothless had always been cold around Snotlout for how he treated Hiccup in their youths, though Hiccup had revealed next to nothing about that. It was surprising to see Toothless suddenly warmed up to Snotlout. Maybe it was simply that fighting spirit being glad to find an outlet.

Astrid went inside, and Hiccup fell in behind her. He still hasn't apologized, though he could tell that she was not angry at him. Well, she was certainly shaken, but there was something to the passive projections she was shedding that implied some sort of understanding.

Still, as he stepped inside, Hiccup rose up on his hind legs, grabbed the blade of Stoick's old sword that was mounted over the door with his toothless gums, and lowered himself to roll onto his back with his neck stretched out and his eyes closed. The sword handle was sticking straight up out of his maw with the flat of the blade pressed against his tongue, leaving his fate in Astrid's hands. She could grab the handle and twist as she pulled it out to slice the gums, or she could thrust it forward to take his life. It was the Viking way to make amends, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. He didn't kill her, but he really did not want to think about what would have happened if Valka wasn't so quick to smack his snout and divert his enraged attention. Her life was in his hands – claws, whatever – and he felt it only fair to return the favor.

Even with his eyes closed, he could sense that Astrid saw all of this. He could feel the flare of annoyance from their child as he was gently placed in his crib, which quickly transitioned to peaceful sleep. Finally, he could hear footsteps approaching. There was a long silence as she stared down at him, but the more she held her peace, the louder her passive hum made it clear that she wasn't really angry at him.

Astrid sighed. "It's just not the same when you can practically read my mind, but you've always been romantically dramatic." She pulled the blade straight out, careful not to harm him, and mounted it above the door again.

Hiccup let out a relaxed sigh, which came out as a guttural groan, but he remained motionless, stretched out on his back.

Astrid sat on the base of his neck, her light weight not uncomfortable at all, and reached forward to casually rub his chin. "So?" she calmly queried.

_{I'm sorry.}_ He poured out the deep pit of shame and regret he felt for the close call, but that didn't feel like it did any justice.

"I know." She sighed. "You felt like this situation is all your fault, and that it's up to you to fix it, and nothing could be right in this world until that happened."

Hiccup warbled his assent.

"Against any application of common sense, you felt like everyone was disappointed in you and that you had to prove something to me, that you were one invention, one discovery, one epiphany away from making everything right again."

Another warble.

"You never stopped to ask yourself, 'Maybe I should ask Astrid what she thinks about this before I fly off the handle? Maybe, for all I know, she likes me _better_ as a dragon?'"

Hiccup snorted at that. _{You do realize I can literally smell a lie, right?}_

Astrid thumped a hand on him. "Spoilsport. My point is that you were so focused on the one thing that mattered to you that you shut out everyone else. You refused to see the forest for the trees and instead handled this in a way that was so… so… Hiccup."

_{Except the dragon responded in a way I should have anticipated, and I almost killed you and our child.}_

Astrid shrugged. "It's past. Toothless told me how much easier it is for him to control himself, to let a perceived insult go without getting his feathers all ruffled up." Hiccup snorted. "Or scales, whatever. Point is, hearing that from a dragon who took it upon himself, that one time you got a fever, to roam the village and nip at anyone who didn't show enough sympathy… Well, he raised a good point. The reverse has happened to you."

Hiccup whined at that. _{Being in a dragon's body justifies nothing!}_

Astrid shook her head. "We work with what we got. Live and learn since we have the opportunity for both. Now, could it happen again?"

Hiccup thought back to earlier. When Astrid entered the Great Hall, he was desperately fighting to stay calm. He needed answers, and the books might have had them, and he really wanted to dig his claws into something soft when Astrid interfered. She was right, of course, about everything. Tearing through the library like that was unnecessary and foolish. He had felt the heat building up within, but his sudden outburst caught him by surprise.

Suddenly, he had his answer.

_{I know what signs I ignored. I felt the rage building, but I didn't recognize it at the time.}_

"So you can just tear up a tree or whatnot. Good. We'll have to test out your snapping reflex sometime later." She stopped rubbing his neck and shifted around to sit on his belly, facing his tail. "Your turn," she casually said. "My ax weighs more, but holding our little guy all the time is _killing_ me."

Hiccup thought about that, clueless about what she wanted, until she started to rub her back against one of his paws that was limply held above him. He warbled as he clumsily put his paws to work to give his wife a back rub, which she leaned into.

"So, what do we know? Spill it all."

_{I'm stuck like this for a hundred years. The metaphorical bucket has been emptied. If the stone is left on its pedestal, the bucket would refill in a hundred years, and by then, it would be too late to change back because my body would be dead.}_ He whined. _{And so would you, and our child, and everyone I know. I can't see myself wanting to live even if this body could go on a long time, which is something we don't know.}_

Astrid gave a hard slap to his belly that he could sense had hurt her hand more than him. "Hey! Let's not descend into depression so soon. We'll figure something out. What else do we know?"

_{The writings say that 'sky light' refills the metaphorical bucket. The sun shone down on the stone through a hole in the cavern ceiling.}_

"Mmmmm," Astrid moaned as Hiccup worked his way to her shoulders, allowing her leaning and twisting to control the pressure since he felt nothing through the pads of his paws. "But we can't just put it back and hope nobody takes it. The word's out that the cave isn't all that cursed anymore and delvers will move in."

_{We could leave it in the sun.}_

Astrid hummed in thought for a while. "Ya. Build something to hold it on the roof of our home and hope nobody steals it while we're out. What about moon and star light?"

_{It is cold whereas the sun is warm. I doubt it would make much difference since it has already been exposed to the night lights as long as it was in that cave.}_

"Toss it in a fire to heat it up? Oh!" Astrid snapped with sudden vigor. "The forge!"

_{But what if that destroys the stone? How can we know we're not doing more harm than good? Maybe the writings mentioned sky light specifically to warn us away from burning it?"_

"Hmmm," Astrid hummed in thought, which gave way to a moan as she leaned her right shoulder into Hiccup's paw. "We could refill the bucket the same way we cook a whole boar. Dig a pit, get a nice hot bed of coals, then a layer of sand, and the stone buried in more sand? It would be a more gentle heat, and if it can cook a boar to perfection, it must be hotter than the sun."

Hiccup groaned. _{I just don't know, and everything entails risk. Hopefully Gobber and Gothi can figure something out, and we still have some writings in the cave in French, Latin, and Greek. We'll have traders and convoys coming in from the mainland soon, and I'm sure we can find a translator and some books among them.}_

The baby stirred and started to cry again. Astrid stood and took a step back to give Hiccup a frown and a dramatic groan. "He wants to feed again," she rubbed at the tender skin on her chest, "and I'm already so sore. Help."

_{I'm a male, and a reptile at that.}_

Astrid snorted as she walked to the crib. "Useless reptile." She couldn't hide the lilt in her voice, though, as she said it with love.

Hiccup rolled to all fours and padded over. At least he could support the child's weight and be there for his wife, and that made him feel a little happier.

Every little bit helped.


	10. Caught

**A/N:  
**Thanks for joining me again, and thank you Deadly-Bagel for betaing.

Stag-beetle, I sure hope most people got that "So long and thanks for all the fish" reference, though I'll admit it is recycled from another story I wrote where I hammered pop culture references into every chapter.

Wodenfang, That's an interesting angle to take, moving towards the equator to get more sunlight on the mysterious gemstone, or better yet, flying North and South throughout the year to keep the sun more directly overhead. Gods, I sure hope someone will figure something out in the near future.

Toothlessgolfer, Hmmm, if your suspicion about "sky light" is what I think it is then I think you're on the right track. You'll potentially get a confirmation in 3 chapters.

Dragonrider's Fury, yeah, poor forest, but it's used to such treatment from Toothless. Just don't get yer hopes up on Snotlout/Hiccup tag-team adventures. You'll see why in this chapter.

Epclaymore, I may dip a little bit into HTTYD 3 content, but I had planned for this story to be like a Simpsons episode where, no matter how grandiose or crazy things get, it always resolves with going back to the status quo. Hmm, then again, wouldn't it be funny to keep Hiccup and Toothless like this, and then if I do a HTTYD 3 adaptation, Hiccup is technically the one getting lured around by the Light Fury and Toothless is all like #feelsbadman? Ohhh, Astrid would _not_ like that… as if Hiccup would let her down.

* * *

**Caught**

Astrid held a stick out and waved it tauntingly, laughing freely at the antics of Hiccup crouching low and wiggling his rump in the air with his tongue hanging out.

"You want this? Huh? You want it? Fetch!" She chucked the stick hard and watched it sail over the edge and down into what Hiccup and Toothless referred to only as "the cove". The Night Fury cleared the distance in a single leap, bare save for one of those modified tail fins that would lock itself into a fixed position so he could fly solo.

She took a couple steps back, gave a gentle push to her son who was sleeping in a little hammock strung between two trees, and sat down. They only recently settled on the name of "Nuffink" as it was one that they had considered before he was born. It was a tradition in the Hairy Hooligan tribe, choosing a humble name if the chieftain's first child was a son. It was their way of showing humility before the gods for blessing them with a legitimate heir so soon.

Already, Hiccup had thumped down by the ledge and was trotting up to join them again, breathing hard and radiating tranquility.

"Did ya get it before it hit the ground?"

Hiccup dropped the stick and purred as he laid his head in her lap. _{Would you expect anything less from someone who has had thirty seven days to learn how to fly as a dragon?}_

Astrid grinned. "Do you really want me to answer that question?"

The dragon warbled mirthfully at that and rolled over to lay on his back, his head next to Astrid's lap. A wingtip extended up to gently rock the hammock. _{Now I see why you enjoy the routine of throwing your ax and retrieving it every morning. It's like playing fetch with yourself.}_

Astrid gently backhanded his snout at that, and he gnawed on her fingers with toothless gums. What he said did get her thinking, though. Growing up, Hiccup had never developed a proper appreciation for the pleasure of working up a sweat. Working sharp blades and hot iron in the forge had always been under great duress with the dragon raids, he never did well at or enjoyed training with a weapon, and running was typically reserved for when he was spotted by someone and he really didn't want to risk the harassment he might receive.

Then, the day he became the hero of Berk and everybody started to truly respect him was the same day that his lower leg got so mashed up that it had to be amputated. From then on, walking was a chore, running was literally a pain, and flying with Toothless was the closest thing to the feeling of liberation that came from a good run around the island.

"I'm sorry," Astrid suddenly blurted out, staring at the ground.

Hiccup hummed thoughtfully. Astrid was not the least bit surprised that he knew exactly what she was talking about. Though he could not read her mind, he could easily recall his past, read her feelings like a book, and connect the dots.

He tilted his head towards her so she could place a hand on it and hear what he had to say, but she headed him off by saying, "I know you've made it clear a thousand times that you don't hold any grudges, but I never stood up for you. I kept telling myself, 'this treatment our heir is receiving is only making him stronger, it's for the good of the tribe', but…" She sighed. "But there's always a point where hitting a dog is only counterproductive."

Hiccup groaned. _{You're here for me now, even after I accidentally almost murdered you.}_

Astrid sighed at that. That near-miss when Hiccup lost himself to a rage was over a month ago. It was a very unusual situation, though, and the eye-opening experience had taught Hiccup how to exercise self-control in his new body. Ever since then, villagers have been commenting about how Toothless seemed to have really calmed down and relaxed lately – before they remembered the soul swap.

In the body of a dragon, Hiccup had learned more and more to enjoy what he was capable of. He delighted in his ability to make children laugh by blowing smoke out of his nose, and it thrilled him to no end that a gentle shake could dislodge any troublemakers pulling on his sensor lobes too hard. He always wanted to help people, to brighten someone's day, and it was a satisfying way to put his new body to good use.

A couple weeks ago, a rider who Hiccup had trained and befriended from a distant island, Hauk, had visited for a little bit on a trading voyage. Though hardly older than Hiccup, Hauk was almost as big as Stoick was and made up for any difference with his youthful energy. Toothless always enjoyed play-fighting with Hauk, so when the young man tackled Hiccup into a wall and sat on his head, he was initially bewildered by the lack of instant retaliation. He had trained to become a dragon whisperer, though, and Hiccup was able to quickly fill him in. Hiccup then really got into their playful wrestling and they were soon throwing each other to the ground with whoops and roars of laughter.

One thing that absolutely thrilled him was to simply run. He would chase Stormfly, then she would chase him, then they'd forget who was chasing who and run side-by-side until Hiccup ran into a tree. They were actually fairly evenly matched depending on how dense the trees and brambles were. He'd also learned that he thoroughly enjoyed loping alongside Astrid on her runs, delighting in this new way of interacting with his wife. After such runs, he would then ignore her half-hearted complaints while he licked the sweat from her face and arms.

One day, Astrid said, "You do realize what sweat is made of, right?"

_{Yes, salt, and call me gross, but it's amazing!} _

Toothless had been learning to enjoy the exploits of his new body too, which the twins quickly started directing towards the art of pranking. He had taken a liking to training with fists and swords with Snotlout and learning archery with Tuffnut. When Valka showed him how to jump from dragonback to dragonback high in the sky, he could never get enough of it. Of course, out of principle more than necessity, he would fly only with Hiccup, but the experience of jumping between dragons in their near-weightless descent allowed him to run in a certain sense without aggravating his stump. With the standing he had with all the dragons who he had freed, first from the Red Death and then from Drago's Bewilderbeast, he had no trouble rallying a crowd in the clouds.

"Hiccup, are you…" She couldn't say it. It was a question that she had been wanting to ask and dreading to hear the answer. She knew from the look in Hiccup's eyes as he stared at her that he knew what she was trying to ask.

_{You want to know if I'm happy?}_

Astrid sucked in a breath and held it. She wanted the answer to be "yes" for his sake, but she also wanted it to be "no" for hers. In the end, she had no clue how she wanted him to feel.

_{I don't think that's the pertinent question. If you're wondering if I'm thankful, then yes.}_

Astrid continued to hold her breath.

"Thankful" had probably been the most-used word when Hiccup was teaching her to hear dragons by meditating. "Thankful" led to "peaceful", which led to "receptive", which led to Astrid screeching, "Oh gods! I heard you Stormfly! Tell me that was you and not my imagination!"

He taught her to be thankful in every situation. An imperfect ax throw allowed her to be thankful that she still had room for improvement – wouldn't life be boring otherwise. A sore neck in the morning, he insisted, allowed her to be thankful that she had elders like Gothi who she could talk to and learn more about sleeping positions.

Even during the dragon raids, Hiccup had talked about how he was thankful that his latest failed dragon-slaying invention did not cause even more damage and that his punishments were not more severe. When he came home with bruises or a black eye, courtesy of some teens who felt aggravated that the runt was their heir, he was thankful that it could have been worse.

_Gods, no wonder he picked up this dragon whisperer stuff so quickly!_

Hiccup purred from his belly-up position and placed his head in her lap. _{I'm thankful to have a loyal and loving wife. I'm thankful to be able to continue sharing my life with you. I'm thankful that our tribe is so deeply at-peace with dragons that this crazy situation can actually work out.}_ He gave her arm a little lick. _{I will be thankful when my wife exhales before she passes out.}_

Astrid forced her breath out as she stared down at him, blinking rapidly. She felt warm. No, not just warm but uncomfortably hot, like a thousand needles were tickling her skin all over. _Yes, it must be the heat and humidity._

"But are you happy?" she asked, sweeping an arm along Hiccup's neck and body. "Like this?"

_{You just gestured to all of me.}_

Astrid deflated.

_{I will choose to be happy in this body because I don't have any choice right now, but if I could change back, there would be so many things to be thankful for, like kissing my wife and holding our son. I'm choosing to focus on what I can be thankful for right now because I don't want to set myself up for great disappointment later. However, I will be very thankful when I am once again in my normal body.}_

Astrid closed her eyes and nodded. She never could figure out how, in a tribe like hers, she could end up with a man who could be her peaceful harbor when she felt battered by the storm. She leaned over and pressed her face into Hiccup's neck, thankful for his gentle purring, because her eyes were quivering.

"Damn it," she whispered. "It's your fault that I'm crying!"

She straightened and Hiccup gave her an imploring stare and a little croon as if to say, "and…?" She rolled her eyes. "And I'm _thankful_ that nobody else is around to see it." Hiccup nuzzled his nose into her neck.

She gave Nuffink another gentle push and settled into Hiccup's shoulder, content for now. The day was theirs, and taking a break from any responsibility to cuddle with her husband all day long sounded like a wonderful idea.

Hiccup gently rolled to his side and curled up around Astrid, and she wrapped her arms around and rested her head on a foreleg.

"Love you, Babe," she murmured.

_{I love you too.}_

The dragon's gentle purring was causing her eyelids to grow heavy. Everything was just perfect. Taking a little nap here while their child slept sounded like the most amazing idea ever.

Nuffink started to cry.

"No," she groaned, "don't tell me." Hiccup's scrunched-up nose was all she needed. "This is the _third_ time since we started our walk in the woods. I'm gonna have to use leaves to clean him up. Again!"

_{There's one other thing I must admit I'm thankful for.}_

Hiccup rolled to all fours and then sat back on his haunches, waving his front paws in a show of just how impotent he was at tasks that required rotating wrists and opposable thumbs. Astrid stood and looked down at her soiled child.

"And I bet he's hungry too."

Hiccup offered her a toothless smile.

"Useless reptile."

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Toothless glared at the female standing just off the docks and said, "Tree grow tall because roots go deep."

The female flicked her chin up and said, "It is not the roots that weather the storm but the branches above."

Rrrr, this meant war!

She had barely arrived on a boat, and everyone else from her tribe had already moved on to the village. Whenever she visited this island, she was always trying to convince Firefly to "lift anchor" and fly around the world, explore new places, drift on the winds, but Firefly always insisted that he was firmly rooted here with his tribe whereas she flitted about with the wind and drifted with the waves. She learned about and quickly adapted to the fact that Toothless had swapped places with his Firefly, but now that this female could talk to Toothless – she was not a dragon whisperer – she was trying to tell him to fully accept this new life in this wayward body, to fully embrace this awkward change in his life, but he had to set her straight because… because… she opposed him!

Somehow, the argument settled down in a strange way.

He scraped his prosthetic foot against the grass and said, "A tree give shade and sometimes food, but it come from the roots beneath."

The land-strider smirked back at him. "So you can take what it gives and move on to the next."

"Rrrrrr! A tree survive long time of no rain because roots provide."

She was nonplussed. "A tree cannot seek out water and so must patiently wait and hope to receive."

Hrrrr, she was a tenacious one, Toothless had to admit that. "You can cut down tree and it still not dead because roots bring up new life."

"Good point there," she said, and Toothless smirked triumphantly. "Never seen a tree dodge an ax."

"Rrrrr! Roots hold tree in place when storm blow hard!"

Ha! The look on her face said it all. She looked confused, desperately scrabbling for some sort of reply.

Finally, she said, "That which has no roots cannot be uprooted."

"That which has no roots fall over and rot!"

_Ha! Top that, land-strider!_

"Unless it has legs."

Toothless' face fell. There was no denying that logic. "I think you right." There was a moment of silence as they stared at each other, both confused as to where to go from there, so he held his fists up. "Play?"

Off to the side, Tuffnut sighed. "So sad. I tried to train him right."

"You act as if it's a bad thing to acknowledge some value in someone else's viewpoint," Fishlegs said with a roll of his eyes.

"I just feel like I failed him as a mentor. We Vikings are supposed to be as unmovable as a mountain."

"Or tree!" Toothless and the female said at the same time. They looked at each other and chuckled.

"So, what you're saying is that Toothless should always assume he's always right about all things at all times?" Fishlegs asked.

Tuffnut crossed his arms. "I'm saying he should stick to his gut!"

Fishlegs scratched his chin. "Hmm, interesting. Alright, let's test that hypothesis." He grabbed a handful of Tuffnut's tunic and lifted him up so his feet dangled above the docks. "Toothless, does your gut say that I should toss Tuffnut into the water.

"No!" Tuffnut screamed.

"Yes," Toothless said.

Fishlegs looked at Tuffnut, legs kicking over the water. "Well, Tuff, do you have anything to say to change Toothless' mind? Oh, wait, nevermind, he should stick to his gut."

Tuffnut's protest was promptly followed by a loud splash.

Fishlegs smiled at the floundering rider. "I do love scientific experimentation." As Tuffnut started to haul himself back on to the dock, screaming very imaginative threats, Fishlegs quickly turned to run. "My gut tells me I really gotta go!"

Toothless idly watched for a moment as they ran off before raising his fists and looking at the female again. "Play?"

She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "What?"

"Play!" Toothless cheerfully said, feinting a jab at her that drew absolutely no reaction at all. "C'mon!"

"You know how Toothless is," Snotlout casually said from nearby. "Or any dragon for that matter."

The female grinned and eyed Toothless. "Alright, I suppose we can dance. On a scale of one to five, how much do you want it to hurt?"

"You? Five!"

"Just be careful," Snotlout said, rubbing his bruised jaw. "His knuckles are _extra_ boney." She gave him a flat stare. "I _let_ him hit me! Ya know, to help motivate him."

She rolled her eyes. "Riiight." Looking at Toothless she said, "Alright, hit me."

Toothless deflated. "You not ready. Need hold up fists. Like this. Not worry, I show. I be gentle."

She gave a sideways glance at Snotlout. "I think I can guess who's been training him. Oh, Toothless, you poor misguided thing."

Toothless scoffed at that. "Not poor Toothless. We play, yes?"

She grinned. "Yes. Hit me."

Toothless charged forward to land a fist in her soft stomach, but something hard hit him in a certain place and it _really hurt_ a _lot_ and he doubled over in pain. "Whyyyy?" he groaned.

"Oh, c'mon, you've seen me do that to other – what do you call us – land-striders? Well, I guess you're a land _crawler_, now."

"Hrrrrr," Toothless wheezed as he struggled to his hands and knees. "No, why land-strider body like this, have fragile thing _there_? Why not it tucked away between… rrrrrr... hip bones?"

She gave an understanding smile. "I know, it's dumb, right?"

He worked his way to a crouch. "Yes!"

The female whipped around and started walking up the ramps. Over her shoulder, she said, "When you're able to walk again, meet me in the forest. I'll see if I can undo the damage of Snotlout's teachings."

Behind him, said rider scoffed. "Ha! She always acts so high and mighty, but it's all just a show. Typical Camicazi."

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Silently, cautiously, Ruffnut crept forward along the ground. She was a sly lynx, and her prey were down in the cove, unaware that someone was spying on them from the ridge above. Soon, she would have what she wanted, and it would be _glorious_!

All she needed was some sort of dirty little secret to dangle over Astrid's head. It wasn't because they were enemies. No, nothing could be farther from the truth. They had been the closest of friends since the day they could walk, but it was always too fun to try to crack the impervious shell around "Astrid the Perfect". Well, nobody called Astrid that, but she was always so in control of herself, so Ruffnut savored the moments when she learned some dirty little secret, a crack in the shell to pry at, something to make Astrid _squirm_.

It was just a little excitement during these boring times when there were no crazed dragons, raiders, or dragon trappers to fight. Each time her true love, the one and only Eret son of Eret, would drop in on Berk with his crew, Ruffnut would sneak up and pounce on him. He was getting complacent, his resistance weaker against her overpowering allure, as she would manage to get closer and cling on longer before he managed to scrape her off and slip away. He knew, deep down, that he was destined for her, but he was simply playing hard to get.

He was gone, though, and wouldn't be back for a couple weeks. Hence the extreme boredom.

Down below, Astrid had stripped down and was wading into the water with Hiccup and their son. That wasn't any usable dirt to dangle over Astrid's head, though. The tribe had already acknowledged that her husband was the man inside a dragon's body instead of the man with a dragon's mind. Still, Ruffnut knew that if she was a patient hunter, her patience would be rewarded.

It has been a month since the last time she managed to make Astrid blush. Astrid had been complaining about how feeding her child every day made her sore. Ruffnut casually reminded her that Night Fury saliva was well-known to have healing properties, and when Astrid's groaning ceased in the following days, Ruffnut cornered her and pounced. Never before had Astrid's face ever turned so red.

"I don't _care_ if you still smell it, that's as clean as this cloth can get until we can get back and toss this in some boiling water." That was Astrid's voice bouncing off the stone walls and drifting up. "Now, hold him or I'll chop off your tail and shove it– I don't care if I've made that threat before. You gotta admit it's a good one."

Ruffnut watched as Hiccup gently held their child in his toothless maw, a testament of trust in how greatly he has improved in controlling himself in his new body ever since that near-miss when he almost mauled Astrid. _Somebody_ was very displeased to be held that way, though, and Hiccup winced at the crying, but some gentle swaying settled Nuffink down. Hiccup then took a couple slow steps back as Astrid bent down to scrub at some bits of clothing, and Ruffnut knew what that was even before the water took on a brown tinge.

"Don't gimme that 'desecrated holy sanctum' nonsense! Just because you befriended Toothless in here..." Astrid dropped the newly-cleaned clothes on a patch of grass along the bank and took the child. "Next time, I'll make _you_ clean this stuff with your mouth!"

Hiccup whined at that and ducked away dramatically. He then walked up out of the water, shook himself out, and lay down on his side to provide a warm belly for Astrid to lean against as she sat with her child.

Ruffnut rolled her eyes. Next time Eret came to Berk, she would latch on and never let go, and then _she_ would have a child and a loving husband and be doing what Astrid was doing… except Eret would do all the cleaning, of course.

Or maybe, after they figured out the mysteries of that strange gemstone, it could be fun to swap places with her dragon. But then again, Barf and Belch were two independent minds in one body. If both of their minds were in Ruffnut's body, maybe that could work… or maybe Ruffnut and Tuffnut could each swap places with one of their dragon's heads… somehow. No, that would only drive them both insane, but maybe swapping spots with just Barf and sharing the body with Belch… Yes, then there would be no chance Eret could get away!

She sighed and backed away from the edge, slowly rising to her feet. This whole hunt was a bust. At least it killed some time.

"Oh my gods, Hiccup, what is _that_!?_"_

Ruffnut froze. That was Astrid alright. It was probably nothing anyway–

"What's it doing down _there_? Don't you dare sass back at me!"

Ruffnut's mind went to only one place. This was too good to pass up. She spun around and sprinted towards the crevice that led down into the cove.

"It's so red and… Oh gods, is it getting even bigger!?"

A branch came out of nowhere and whipped at Ruffnut's face, but she ignored it and pressed onward, down into the darkness of the stone crevice.

"Ah! Yes, good. No, I can't wait. Alright, let's do this! Yes! Right here, right now!"

Ruffnut smacked her shoulder into a stone wall she didn't see. Her eyes were still adjusting to the low amount of light, but she rushed onward at top speed.

"No, no, this is a job that requires opposable thumbs. Just, here– Grrrr! Hold still and let me do my thing! And stop licking it!"

Faster and faster Ruffnut ran. A root reached up and snagged her foot and she took a tumble. Ouch! That cheek would be bruised for a while.

"Yes, that's it! C'mon, put your back into it!"

Ruffnut tore around a corner and lost her footing. A flare of pain shot through her ankle as she slammed into a stone wall, but she kept pressing forward.

"Almost there... A little deeper…"

A stone found Ruffnut's foot and she tumbled head over heels, rolled to her feet, smacked into a stone wall, and kept on pressing forward.

"Alright, my turn!" The sound of grunting could be heard from both dragon and rider. "Oh, stop making me work for it. Just gimme the goods..."

Sunlight assaulted Ruffnut's eyes as she burst through the opening into the cove. Already, she was wearing a triumphant smirk and pointing at Astrid caught in the devilish act of…

Of…

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Astrid plucked up her child from the child from the grass by the water and cradled him in her arm, rocking him gently. The poor thing was so tired out he could barely cry anymore.

_No_, she thought to herself, _not _my _child, _our _child._

Hiccup padded out of the water and shook himself off… and then gave an apologetic look at Astrid who was soaked from that. Well, she was soaked already from having waded into the lake to wash some clothes. Astrid grabbed one of the sopping-wet rags with her free hand and chucked it at Hiccup's snout.

Hiccup lay down and offered his side to lean against and a wing as a banket, so Astrid accepted. All was peaceful and right, but then she noticed something that stole her breath away.

"Oh my gods, Hiccup, what is _that_?!" she shrieked.

Nuffink had a rash. A rash! He had a gods-damned rash on the inside of his thigh!

_{It would appear to be a rash.}_

Astrid lightly backhanded Hiccup's snout in irritation, a gesture he would hardly feel through the scales. "What's it doing down _there_?"

_{Well, maybe we were a bit overzealous in keeping him clean down there.}_

"Don't you dare sass back at me! It's so red and… Oh gods, is it getting even bigger!?"

This was terrible. Her son had a rash! What to do?! What to do?!

Astrid forced herself to take a deep breath to collect her thoughts. Hiccup was a dragon, a Night Fury at that, so he could talk to any other dragon on the island… and Gothi was a dragon whisperer.

"Is Nose near Gothi?" she whispered, a thought suddenly forming in her mind.

Already, Hiccup had his sensor lobes dancing around, flicking around to find the optimal position to hear dragons from afar. Through the Night Fury, through the Terrible Terror, Astrid could sense what Gothi was projecting, having already been briefed on the situation.

"Ah!" Astrid shouted with delight. At last, some promise of a solution!

She saw an image of a bush that was common enough on Berk. Its roots had to be harvested and mashed up with a little water to make a soothing balm for Nuffink. Better yet, Hiccup could chew on them. Night Fury saliva had healing properties, after all.

"Yes, good," she said excitedly.

_{Or I could ask Nose to bring some dried herbs that Gothi has at her hut.}_

"No, I can't wait." She looked around and saw the bush she needed. What luck! "Alright, let's do this!"

Hiccup poked a claw into the ground near the trunk of the bush. _{Shall I dig here?}_

"Yes!" she impatiently said. "Right here, right now!

Hiccup started scratching the ground, and in moments, he had a hole to the roots. He was trying to grab them with his claws, but it was a vain effort.

"No, no, this is a job that requires opposable thumbs." Astrid shooed him away and set their child down on the grass between his front paws. "Just, here–" Nuffink started squirming. "Grrrr! Hold still and let me do my thing!" Hiccup started to lick at the rash and Astrid smacked his tongue away. "And stop licking it!"

She lay down by the hole and stuck her arm in reaching as far as she could. No, that wouldn't do. The hole needed to be deeper. Hiccup saw this and padded over to resume digging, cautious to avoid disturbing Nuffink.

"Yes, that's it!" Astrid cheered as dirt flew out of the hole. "C'mon, put your back into it! Almost there... A little deeper…"

After another moment of digging, Hiccup backed out for her to try again.

"Alright, my turn!" she said as she laid down by the hole again. She grunted as she reached her arm in as far as she could. "Oh, stop making me work for it. Just gimme the goods..."

No luck! She could feel the roots with her fingertips, but she couldn't get a good grip. If only…

A scuffling sound drew her attention to the entrance to the cove, a narrow cleft in the rock. Ruffnut burst out in a limping run, covered in scrapes and bruises, pointing an accusing finger at Astrid with a haughty smirk that quickly faded.

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* * *

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Ruffnut stooped to catch her breath, accusatory finger still pointing. She wanted the ground to open up and swallow her whole. She was so _sure_ that she had some dirt to rub in Astrid's face...

Hiccup was crouched by a bush, grunting as he gnawed and licked at his dirt-encrusted claws. Astird was lying down next to him with her hand stuck down a hole in the ground. Nuffink was lying on the ground, gently fussing with Hiccup's wing, too tired to properly cry.

"What…" Ruffnut started to ask. She was so sure…

Astrid looked up. "Ah, Ruff, I figured that was either you trying to stalk us all morning long or a drunken boar crashing through the undergrowth." She urgently gestured with her free hand. "Come here quick!"

Ruffnut, finger still pointing with criminal conviction, triumphant smirk turning upside down in shock and confusion, stumbled forward.

Astrid pulled her arm out of the hole in the ground and stood to frantically beckon Ruffnut to take her spot. "Your arms are longer. Hiccup dug a hole for me, and I'm trying to get some of the finer roots of this bush, but they're just out of reach. Hiccup says that Nose says that Gothi says that these roots can be mashed and mixed with spit to make a soothing balm. It's great having a husband who can project his thoughts across the island, and that our village healer is also a dragon whisperer."

Ruffnut numbly lay down and reached into the hole under the bush, feeling very embarrassed. They'd just been trying to dig up some stupid roots.

Boring!

Astrid flicked a chunk of dirt off the bottom of Hiccup's chin, causing him to croon and lick at a smear of dirt on the side of her face. "Wow, Hiccup, we sure know how to make a mess."

Ruffnut groaned. _Great, now she's adding insult to injury. She's taunting me and she doesn't even know it!_

"Hey, what happened to your face?" Astrid asked, gesturing to the bruised cheek. "Get in a fight with a bear?"

Ruffnut strained a little more and managed to grab and tear out some of the stupid roots. "Oh, nothing. So… uhhh… when you were talking about something big and red…"

Hiccup stared at her impassively.

_Oh gods, he's on to me! _

Astrid picked up her child, which sent him into the biggest hissy fit of all time. She held up one leg to reveal a rash on the inside of his thigh. Ruffnut smacked her forehead against the ground in exasperation.

"Just look at it!" Astrid wailed. She then looked down at her child and cooed, "Oh, you poor little thing. Don't worry. Mommy's gonna make it all better."

Hiccup coughed.

"And Daddy too." She set her child down, snatched the roots from Ruffnut's hand, and crouched by the water to rinse off the dirt clinging to them.

"Here," she said as she shoved the roots into Hiccup's mouth. "Chew it up, but don't swallow." She sighed in exasperation. "I know you know! Don't gimme lip."

Ruffnut drooped in disappointment. She thought back on everything she heard Astrid saying but realized that it was about nothing more than a rash and the struggle to harvest some stupid roots.

_How could I have thought otherwise?!_

Turning to Ruffnut, Astrid said, "Oh, and a little bird told Hiccup that Hilda would be absolutely fuming if you abandoned her to spy on me and Hiccup. However, she probably will beat you only _half_ to death if you double-time it back."

Ruffnut deflated. "And by 'little bird' I assume you mean her Terrible Terror?" The Night Fury was known to be able to communicate with other dragons from across the island, which was very inconvenient at times like this.

Astrid nodded. "And said little bird also mentioned that if you manage to find some morels on the way back, Hilda may even let you off with only a light scolding."

Ruffnut turned to sulk her way back home. Behind her, she heard Astrid saying to Hiccup, "I really don't want to know what got Ruffnut so riled up and shaken, do I? Didn't think so."


	11. Inspiration

**A/N:  
**Thanks for joining me again and thanks to Deadly-Bagle for betaing. Someone tell him to constantly poke me until I get caught up with writing again.

Toothlessgolfer, Thanks for dropping a line. Funny that you ask about Ruffnut and Eret…

Sterr, If ya made it this far, I haven't seen much of the show, but I had to Google the Futurama theorem. I'll be using magic instead of science in my universe, though, so no buffer bodies required. ;)

Epclaymore, yeah, I know, sorry about the wait. I'm trying to do a chapter every two weeks (while reading stories where authors post at 8x the rate in terms of word count lol). Let's just say I'm "mostly punctual".

* * *

**Inspiration**

"Hold!"

Hiccup's heart was racing. His blood was boiling. His entire body quivered with the rush of the hunt.

A rabbit was poking its head out from under a bush up ahead, and Hiccup wanted nothing more than to chase it and crunch down on it. He was already drooling, his mouth demanding tribute.

"Hold…" Astrid said again.

_But the rabbit!_

Hiccup whined. This was absolute torture!

However, he had literally asked for this. Whenever he was relaxed, which was almost all the time, he was fine, but the Night Fury could be quite rash when excited. Ever since that close call, when he almost hurt Astrid, he resolved that he would conquer the Night Fury. He would beat his instincts into submission no matter how much hammering it took. Astrid was greatly encouraged to hear of such aspirations, and when Hiccup asked her to help him develop discipline and control over his body at any opportunity, she had stared back at him with the most feral and sinister gleam in her eyes.

"Hold…"

_But… But… Rabbit!_

Hiccup spared her a quick flick of his eyes before focusing on the rabbit again. It was wary of his presence, but he was far enough away that it wasn't spooked yet.

"Sit."

_NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!_

Hiccup whined piteously as he quickly slammed his rear to the ground. The rabbit hopped around the bush for some more greens, and Hiccup's body automatically lurched forward, but he caught himself and forced himself to sit again.

"Good boy!"

He spared a moment to give her a flat stare, and she chuckled.

"Lay down."

_This is agony!_

Hiccup groaned as he forced his front legs to bend to settle on his paws and knees, tensed, ready to spring–

"_All_ the way down," she said as she lightly biffed his snout.

He snarled at the hit but caught himself before snapping at her. A couple of red marks on her hand drew his attention, healing relics from a few days ago when she had gone a little too far and he'd snapped at her, barely nicking her skin. Fortunately, she knew better than to initiate such exercises while holding their child. Still, seeing the consequences of his failure to control himself strengthened his resolve. He gave the hand a little lick before lying flat on the ground.

She took a couple steps back. Sensing that she was about to release him, Hiccup tensed up.

"Hey, no cheating," she said. She then gave Hiccup an evil smirk that made him gulp. She couldn't… she wouldn't dare…

"Roll over."

Hiccup yowled in agony. He forced – himself – to roll – over.

There! Done! His eyes were still on the rabbit. Not only his eyes, but his ears, nose, and his sensor lobes pulsated to feel for any projections the rabbit was throwing off. It knew there was a predator nearby, but it was far enough away that it hadn't disappeared into its hole yet. Still, Hiccup's whining had put it on edge.

"No cheating, now. Ready…"

_RABBIT! RABBIT! RABBIT!_

Hiccup forced – himself – to remain – absolutely–

"Go!"

He was gone in a flash, his legs, head, wings, and tail working furiously to close the distance. The rabbit shot behind the bush for its hole. It was fast, but so was he. His headlong sprint tore through the bush and he swiped his paw–

Nothing! The rabbit was already in its hole. Hiccup poised over it, drawing forth some fuel to breathe out–

"Hold!"

Hiccup railed against his instincts to ignore her and forced himself to remain absolutely motionless. Every fiber of his being burned to continue the hunt.

_You don't know how hard this is!_

"You're right, you've made so much progress, best not push it. Go!"

A plume of fire erupted from his maw and splashed into and around the hole. Smoke wisped out, and with his sensor lobes dancing with excitement, he could track the rabbit by the panic it was wafting as it fled from the heat and choking smoke, seeking another exit–

It was over in an instant. He felt a great rush of satisfaction as his teeth crunched down around its head, but he fought to stop himself from eating any more. This was also part of the exercise, restraining himself from doing what he desired in tearing into the rabbit like a starving dragon, not that he was starved at all.

Hiccup trotted over to Astrid and repositioned the rabbit in his mouth so his teeth could bite down on the neck. She twisted and pulled to grab the rest of the body.

"Good!" she said, genuinely pleased. "You deserve a break. Next rabbit you see, just go for it, and we'll have dinner."

########

* * *

########

Toothless grinned down at the mostly flat iron thing in front of him, or "pan" as the land-striders called it. It was resting on a bed of coals, the food sizzling happily.

It was his masterpiece.

Most meals were at the Great Hall, where a few cooked for all, and it was almost always a stew, but there were occasions in the past couple of months where Toothless could help out with preparing food at home. Dragons were designed for killing and destroying, but land-striders could do so much more. Where claws could only tear and shred, a hand holding a knife could _cut_ things into slices, sticks, chunks, whatever he wanted. Such seemingly unnecessary control over things was strange, but he was really starting to enjoy it.

Usually, he was relegated to assisting Astrid or Valka: cut this, slice that, stir the stuff in the pot. While the notion of preparing food before eating it had initially frustrated Toothless, he had developed an appreciation for it over time. He found satisfaction in taking something and making it a better something. There was no doubt in his mind that this was because he was no longer a dragon.

There were a lot of rules to learn, though, like there was such a thing as cooking something too hot or too long. Harder foods took longer to cook than softer foods. Slicing harder things into thin strips made them cook faster. Leafy things were usually added at the very end, being both very soft and very thin. Not all slabs of meat were the same, even if they came from the same animal – a distinction Toothless had never noticed as a Night Fury as all meat tasted equally amazing to his dragon tongue.

A few days ago, Astrid had cooked a couple of whole rabbits over the fire, and Toothless learned it tasted really, really, _really_ good. However, he had seen enough. Valka was dubious, but Toothless knew that he could prepare a whole meal all by himself. It was a simple matter of combining the bits he learned.

One thing he had learned was to do all the slicing and shaping of things before putting them over the fire, which also decreased the frequency with which he would cut himself. The tuber sticks were starting to soften in the pan, sizzling in butter – another one of those magnificent things only a land-strider would decide this world needed – and he had just added the carrot slices.

Four slabs of yak meat were cooking on the coals next to the pan. As a former dragon, he knew meat inside and out – literally – so it was with the most impeccable timing that he flipped the steaks after they got a nice char on one side. Even as a dragon, he could appreciate the taste of the crust on the outside of a steak, but he would never dare let it cook so long that the inside would become brown and ruined. He also poured some ale into the pan, which he had learned gave an interesting taste without "burning" him as had happened when he would drink it. Somehow, the heat removed whatever was in there that made him think, talk, feel, and act all funny.

When the steaks were done, he tossed into the pan some more butter, diced mint, and some sort of sprout he didn't know the name of, gave it a mix with a wooden spoon, and laid the steaks on top. Astrid then patted out the fire in Toothless' hair as she gave him some plates.

"Looks good, Toothless," Valka crooned.

As they sat down at the table, Astrid said, "Really, Toothless, not bad for a Night Fury turned Viking."

Firefly immediately lapped up the steak on his plate, swallowed without even chewing, and purred contentedly as he nuzzled Toothless. _{You have my vote, Toothless, as the best cook in all of history.}_

Astrid picked up a forkful of the vegetables and crunched on them – and then choked for a moment before downing an entire mug of water. "Well, I don't think anyone can say you didn't add enough mint or salt," she said.

Toothless smiled. "I see you always add some. If some good, then more better."

Astrid choked down another forkful and went to refill her mug. "Well, it's kinda like Terrible Terrors. There is such a thing as too much."

Toothless nibbled at the vegetables and grimaced. "I see what you mean."

Valka sliced off a strip from her steak and eyed the slice. "Well, you certainly didn't _over_cook the meat."

Toothless grinned as he carved a slice and ate it. The outside was crispy, but the inside was squishy and warm. It was like he had just pounced on his prey and started tearing out mouthfuls of meat while it was still kicking. "I think it good, and Firefly say it perfect," he insisted.

"He would say that about raw fish, and you know what happened when you tried to eat one," Valka said.

Toothless grimaced at the memory. He knew that the outhouse was a smelly place during a short visit, but that night was one he would happily forget if only his faulty land-strider mind would comply.

Astrid pecked a kiss on Toothless' cheek. "Still gives Valka a run for her coin."

Valka swatted at her and they both broke down laughing.

########

* * *

########

Toothless sat on a grassy bluff, enjoying the feel of the breeze on his face in a way he never could as a dragon.

Down below, in the water, a ship was drifting out of the harbor. It was trader Johann's. He was a trader, and as such, he had been able to help with reading the various types of scratchings and marks on the walls of the cave where all this trouble began.

Traders, Toothless had learned, came into contact with a wide variety of land-striders from all parts of the world on a regular basis, so his proficiency in speaking multiple languages was simply a necessity. To augment the frail memory of a land-strider, Johann also had a stash of rare books on-hand that he called "dictionaries", and the offering of some tribute secured his time and interest in putting his resources to use.

That was something that Toothless found absolutely mind-boggling. Somehow, in their silly land-strider minds, they had decided that their slow and clumsy way of representing thought was too simple. Sure, words that could be chosen and arranged to represent thoughts to a very limited degree, he understood that quite well, but land-striders unanimously agreed that this was not nearly complicated enough. No, one language would be too easy. Well, it may be enough for one flock, or all flocks in a certain area, but another flock would speak and write a _different_ language entirely.

Why? Well, life would be too simple if all land-striders could communicate with each other, and if there was one thing that all land-striders loved, it was complexity in every aspect of life. Maybe they would literally go insane if it was possible for them to communicate with other land-striders from far-flung lands. For creatures that required cooperation and teamwork for life's most basic survival needs, Toothless found it fascinating how land-striders always managed to push other individuals or flocks away.

Still, they were able to piece together the varied fragments of what was written on the walls of that cave. Fishlegs had diligently reproduced the scratchings, referencing his dragon's memory of what she had seen, and with some tribute to secure his interest in the matter, Johann was able to shed a lot of light on what it all said. His knowledge and books exceeded everyone's cautious hopes.

Some languages could not be understood, though, such as one that featured boxes, slashes, and dots that Johann said he suspected came from very far to the East. Another set of runes had the noteworthy feature that every rune was topped with a line, and many of them were joined by these lines. Johann said he had never seen such markings.

What could be read only reinforced what was already known, which was that light from the sky was needed to "refill the bucket"... or "refresh the stone" as the Latin scratchings indicated. It was also called "light of gods", but Fishlegs concluded that it must have referred to Sol, goddess of the sun. The more exposure the stone had to the sun, the better, and if things went well, it would only take a hundred years.

"Well, back to square one, I guess," Fishlegs groused.

"More like square dumb," Tuffnut said.

Ruffnut moaned. "Now I have to wait a _hundred_ years before I can use that stone," she jerked her thumb over her shoulder towards where it was mounted on top of Firefly's house, "before I can use it to–"

Firefly growled.

"Okay, fiiiiine," she said, dismissing him with a wave. "I have to wait _two_ _hundred_ _years_ before I can become a Zippleback."

She continued staring sullenly out to sea, and it took a while for her to realize that everyone was staring at her, perplexed. "Ya know, so Eret can't slip away from me again."

Everyone continued to stare in dumbfounded silence. "Well, if you must pry, my plan is to snag his leg with my Zippleback teeth, inject a light dose of venom into his legs so he can't run away, then drag him inside, just the two of us, where I will proceed to–"

Astrid smacked the back of Ruffnut's head. "Nobody cares about your weird fantasies."

"I dunno," Snotlout mused, "it'd be interesting to see how she reacts to learning that being a dragon would sorta ruin her plans."

Tuffnut stuck a thumb to his chest. "And _I_ want to know how you could _dare_ to do this dragon soul swap thing without your brother. Besides, Barf and Belch are two individual minds."

"Do you really want to be a part of whatever she has in mind?" Snotlout hissed

"Hey!" Astrid shouted. "Can we focus on the _actual_ problem we have here."

"Wait, we have a problem?" Tuffnut asked."

"Toothless is in my husband's body!" Astrid shrieked.

Tuffnut shot to his feet. "What? Where?!" Astrid rolled her eyes and pointed. "I'm on it!" he shouted, and with that, he lunged at Toothless to flatten him against the grass.

Toothless sighed as he put Camicazi's training to use. The side of his hand slammed into Tuffnut's throat, and a fingertip poked at an eyeball, giving Toothless ample opportunity to casually stand up again.

"Owwwww!" Tuffnut choked out between coughs. "Hazing you was funner back when you were Hiccup instead of a dragon… man."

Ruffnut fist-bumped Toothless. "Dude I wanna watch you do that _every _day."

"Ahem!" Fishlegs coughed. "Back on topic, we're trying to figure out how to refill the bucket – or refresh the stone or whatever – faster. I have an idea. I read a book that talks about how, if we go far enough South, they have Summer when we have Winter. So, if we go down there every Winter, we'd have more daylight hours to recharge the stone."

"Wait, how is that a thing?" Snotlout demanded. "Summer is Summer, Winter is Winter."

Oh, that's easy," Tuffnut said, pacing back and forth, gesticulating with his hands. "We know the sun leans South in the Winter, and it arises but for a brief moment before setting again, but in the Summer, it hardly deigns to set at all. Therefore, if we go South, to where the sun is in the Winter, then it will be as Summer, but when it turns to Winter down there, it must wander North again, and so we must chase it up here again."

Fishlegs stood there, staring in slack-jawed wonder, before shaking himself back to reality. "Well, yes, precisely, but, well, I didn't know you were so well versed in the sun's migration patterns throughout different regions and–"

"Too many words!" Tuffnut moaned. "It was elementary, my dear Fishlegs, if one applies logic to knowledge."

"I dunno, though," Ruffnut said. "Let's say we knock it down to fifty years, if that's even feasible, but that means flying and sailing that stone across the world and back again fifty times, and hopefully not losing it even once."

"Hmm, that would be a big risk," Astrid mused. "Storms, raiders, or even just making a little mistake and misplacing it one time is all it would take."

"Well, any other ideas?" Fishlegs asked.

"What about a second sun?" Ruffnut suggested. Everyone stared at her blankly. "Ya know, if one sun takes a hundred years, two suns would take half that. We could make a thousand sacrifices to Sol."

Everyone stared at her in silence.

"Ya know, appease her, ask her to give us a second sun, or maybe four of them while we're at it."

The staring continued. "We'll start with Tuffnut. Ya know, sacrifice him. Nobody will miss him.

"Ahem," Tuffnut coughed.

Ruffnut deflated. "Oh, right, the gods would only take that as an insult. Good point."

"Hey!"

"How about finding a way to make the sun hotter?" Astrid suggested. "Ya know, like how Nadder fire burns very hot and quickly as compared to Nightmare fire that burns longer even though it cannot instantly turn some hapless trainee's ax into a puddle of slag." She elbowed Firefly suggestively and he shuffled his paws.

"Yeah, good luck with that," Tuffnut said. "You can join my sis on team burnt sacrifice."

"What about you, Hiccup," Fishlegs asked Firefly, who groaned and flopped over to his back. Toothless could relate quite well. Dragons were very good at flying, rending, crushing, burning, not forgetting everything all the time, but coming up with clever ideas and feats of imagination was best left to land-striders.

Toothless stared out to sea, deep in thought. He was in Firefly's body. He was a land-strider. His mind should be making such imaginative leaps, but he felt like his imagination was small and fading, just like Johann's ship out there.

His tiny little ship.

Almost just a speck on the horizon.

Really, it was completely pointless to look at it. Even if he was a dragon so that he could see it more clearly–

A thought suddenly sprang into his mind and held on it with vengeance. It was a stupid thought, a pointless one no doubt, but he decided to pursue it. He sprang at Fishlegs and, without asking, rummaged through his satchel.

"Hey, Toothless, what are you–" Fishlegs started to ask, but Toothless ignored him and triumphantly pulled out what he was seeking. It was one of those distance-viewer things that made small things look big, and far things look close.

However, when he extended the tube and held the small end to his eye as he had seen Firefly and other land-striders do in the past, he saw only blackness.

Fishlegs cleared his throat. "Lens cover."

Toothless looked at the device, perplexed, until he noticed a leather circle strapped over the large end. He unhooked one side so it fell away and tried to use the distance-viewer again. It took him a moment, but he found Johann's ship. As expected, it looked a lot bigger through the distance-viewer.

"That it!" he exclaimed! "This make small thing look big! Somehow make small eye more big, like dragon eye!"

For a moment, Fishleg's mouth resembled a fish gasping for air, then he started clapping and cackling giddily. "Toothless, you're a _genius_!"

"Yes, I am!" Toothless crowed.

Astrid's eyes went wide. "Ohhhhhh."

Toothless held the distance-viewer in front of him, fondling it reverently. "If it make small ship look big, it make small sun–" he started to aim it upward–

Fishlegs smacked his hand down. "No! You'll go blind in that eye for half a day and be seeing spots for the other half."

"Yes yes," Toothless said impatiently. "But not need eye look through viewer but stone. Make sun look big to stone."

Firefly and Astrid grinned wide. "Well, what are your thoughts?" Astrid asked Fishlegs.

He scratched his chin. "Hmm, I've bought some glass lenses off of Johann to play around with – that's what makes the distance-viewer work, you see. You can hold a lens to make a little dot of sunlight, burn holes through leaves if you're patient enough, or even start kindling on fire. The bigger the lens, the brighter the dot, the hotter it burns."

He suddenly smiled big. "This demands science! Hiccup, can you burn a patch of ground down to dirt? I just need a hand-sized patch."

Firefly complied, then patted at the ashes with his paw. Fishlegs bent one of the three little iron fingers holding the lens in place, threw himself at the ground, plucked up a single blade of grass nearby, and held the lens above it to make an intense dot.

"See?" he asked as everyone crowded around him. "Snotlout, your shadow is _not_ helping. Thanks. Anyway, see the dark circle under the lens, around the bright spot? I think it's taking all the sun and putting it on that little point. Doing this with the gemstone wouldn't accomplish much since it's as big as this lens..."

"But if we get several of these things all making dots on the gemstone…" Astrid started to say.

"Or one _big_ lens..." Ruffnut added.

"Or many big lens!" Toothless said excitedly.

Fishlegs stood. "I guess the theory is sound. We'd have to hold the lens in place…"

"Gobber can surely make some sort of thing for that," Astrid said.

Fishlegs nodded. "And as the sun moves across the sky, we'd have to adjust and readjust the lens…"

"One step at a time," Astrid said impatiently, her face positively beaming.

"So if we get a lens ten times as large as the gemstone, we'd refill the bucket in ten years."

"Or _ten_ of these lenses, and we could do it in _one_ year! Hiccup could watch and adjust this lens rig thingy all day, every day."

Firefly groaned at that.

"So, where do we get such things?" Snotlout asked. "Ask Johann if he has a lens to sell every time he comes to port?"

"Ah, that shouldn't be too hard," Fishlegs said. "The Hysteric tribe is known to have a bunch of tinkerers, and some of their smiths know how to make glass. There must be some pretty clever minds if they figured out that the world isn't flat even before we trained up some of them as dragon riders."

"That was pure luck," Snotlout said. "They have some silly ideas too, like this imaginary faraway place called, ah… murca or something like that."

"Well, it's worth a shot!" Astrid cheered.

"Yes," Fishlegs agreed. "That's where Johann sometimes gets his lenses. So, we get a lot of stuff to trade, fly on over, and see how big of a lens they can make."

"TO THE SKIES!" Astrid shouted. She then let out a battle cry as she turned to leap onto her dragon… before she realized that her offspring was in her arms, and he was now crying. She groaned. Even a dragon dam wouldn't leave her hatchling for several days.

"Ugh, so boring," Tuffnut said. "More flying somewhere to get a thing. Our adventures have been so lame as of late. I sure hope we get captured by dragon trappers or something like that."

Ruffnut knocked her helmet into his. "Shut up! I'm only two years away from becoming a Zippleback and gnawing on my one true love and–"

"Not want hear!" Toothless said.


	12. Bait and Swap

**A/N:  
**Hey y'all. Thanks for tagging along, and thanks to my beta, Deadly-Beagle, for proofing. Hmm, no, that's not right, it's Deadly… Baguette? No, no, umm, Deadly-Danish? Shoot, I'm really bad at this. Oh well, onward to my favorite part of the story – responding to your review (unless you didn't leave one, and that's alright, but it's never too late to share your thoughts).

Dragonrider's Fury, yeah, poor Hiccup, forced to fight against his hunting instincts. This scene was actually inspired by an English Setter I once adopted. He was 5 years old when I got him, trained as a bird dog and then given up. Whenever he saw or smelled a critter nearby, he would start to quiver and shiver so much that some people thought he was freezing, but it was actually an adrenaline rush in anticipation of the hunt. I had him trained to the point where he could sit at my side at the edge of a duck-filled pond, shivering with excitement. Don't worry, I'd always release him, and he'd always run all around off-leash after trying to catch them to burn up all his pent-up energy. Once, he caught a morning dove – alive and unharmed! Never before have I ever seen a dog look so smug, even after I let the bird fly away.

Epclaymore, yes, insanity, here we come! Things are gonna get crazy.

Toothlessgolfer, hmm, good question. I couldn't find any online Norse translator, but I've seen the Icelandic language thrown around in some fanfics, and America would translate to Ameríku, apparently.

* * *

**Bait and Swap**

Thuggory Stonefist, heir to the Meathead tribe, was just starting to doze off when his dragon warbled to get his attention. Naturally, he ignored it in favor of sleep. However, his dragon, whose flying was normally as smooth as butter, rocked him back and forth to nudge him awake.

He let out a loud yawn and, with a heroic effort, lifted his head to look ahead. "What is it?" he mumbled grumpily. "Are we there yet?"

He looked down at his dragon, a Gronckle he had named Forge. Though not his first choice for a dragon companion, when he was at a dragon training event a few years ago, the relationship just developed without any effort, both rider and dragon content to hang out when they wanted to and snooze whenever they felt like it.

Forge flicked his ear fins and his head to the left, and Thuggory looked off in the distance to see some dragons flying across their path. They were too far away to see any detail, or if they even had riders, but he could tell that they were not the same breed of dragon. Since dragons were usually mostly solitary creatures that did not go for joy flights with other breeds, they likely had riders.

Thuggory yawned as he covered his mouth against the gale-force winds and shielded his eyes as he blinked the sleep out. "Yeah, we can go say hi. Tell 'em we can split the difference and fly along as we chat."

Forge let out a loud roar, and the other dragons changed course to intercept. As they drifted closer, it turned out that his assumption about there being riders was correct. It was Hiccup and his usual gang, except minus Astrid and her Nadder. It was only a few months ago that Thuggory had seen them. He recalled that Astrid – who somehow ended up with Hiccup's child in her – was so depressed that she couldn't participate in the games.

But by Odin's beard, even if it still felt a little like living in a fairy tale, that was a good day! With the introduction of dragons to almost every island in the Archipelago – a peace offering from the Hooligan tribe to ward off the collective desire for everyone to band together and beat their dragon-taming secrets out of them – the Vikings of the Archipelago naturally found a way to weave dragons into the competitions. There were races, relays, boulder drags, logrolling – where the dragons balanced on the floating logs and riders rode the dragons – and skirmishes. For every competition Vikings normally held at Thawfest within the tribe, dragons were thrown into the mix and tribes were pit against each other, and the dragons absolutely loved it.

This year's dragon Thawfest was hosted by the Berserker tribe, which had become surprisingly tame in recent years. At least, that was what people were calling it, but some traders from the South said it reminded them of Olympus games from Greece, and Thuggory heard that name this year a few times more than last.

As Forge settled in along with the other dragons, Thuggory crossed a leg on top of his dragon and leaned an elbow on his knee. "Well, look who it is. You Hooligans fluttered off so soon after the dragon games I wasn't sure I'd see you again. Figured you were ashamed Forge 'n I won so many of the contests."

Snotlout waved him off. "Oh, please. I woulda won the ax-throwing contest without even looking, but the sun was in my eyes."

"So opening your eyes was your downfall?" Ruffnut asked.

Thuggory smirked. "Excuses, excuses. Was the sun in your eyes for the boulder carry too?"

"Eh, that was all about the dragons," Tuffnut said dismissively. "Gotta hand it to you, Forge, you got some muscle on ya."

"He sure does," Thuggory said. "He and I both work hard, train hard, and win hard. I'm just surprised that Meatlug didn't beat him with how she's gotta carry your fat arse around."

"Hey! Fishlegs squeaked. "That's not nice!"

Thuggory looked over at Hiccup. "I suppose I can admit your dragon is fast, but then again, he does bear a light burden. It would be awkward to leave Thawfest without winning a single contest, so good on your dragon."

Hiccup scowled and said, "Not only fast but our dance good too."

"Yeah, that," Thuggory said with a scoff. "Dragon dancing" was one of the few contests that did not test one's strength, speed, or wit, and Toothless was able to make it look like his rider was literally throwing him around or balancing him on a finger, making him the crowd favorite.

Suddenly, Hiccup grinned from ear to ear with a sinister look in his eyes. "He not know…" the rider said contemplatively.

Fishleg's eyes were wide and he was quietly saying, "Ohhhhh."

"Not know what?" Thuggory asked

Tuffnut laughed and said, "Well, let's just say that Hiccup is feeling… beside himself."

"Let's just say Toothless isn't used to being on top," Ruffnut added.

"Is that innuendo?" Hiccup asked.

Snotlout snorted at that. "_Everything_ girls say is an innuendo, but Thug, you _could_ say Hiccup put on some muscle."

Thuggory squinted and stared for a moment. "Really? Where?"

As they bantered on, Thuggory felt a creeping suspicion that something was out of place. Hiccup was normally a pacifist who felt the itch to whine about playing nice, but instead, he was laughing at everyone as they poked fun at each other. On the other hand, his dragon seemed to feel uneasy, like he was resisting the urge to snap at someone, especially at certain times, but Thuggory couldn't quite figure out the cause. Sure, Toothless took every insult to Hiccup quite personally, being his rider, but the dragon used to have a sense of humor and would harmlessly growl at the offender before going on to ignoring people in general.

Thuggory sidled his dragon up next to Ruffnut and leaned over to smile at her. "Hey, you should come visit sometime, see what makes a legend."

"Sorry, Buttercake, but I'm already taken," Ruffnut said with a dreamy look in her eyes. "My heart is big enough for only one honey bun."

Thuggory scoffed. "You can't be _serious_ about still holding out for Eret?! He's always squirming to get away from you. Last time I saw, he was hysterically screaming, 'Get this she-devil off of me!'"

"Ah, yes, Eret son of Eret," she swooned. "Always one to play hard to get. I'll get him, though. Two years, tops, and he's _mine_!"

"Uhhh… how exactly…"

Snotlout made eye contact with Thuggory and shook his head with a disgusted look on his face, like he just forced himself to down a mug of Astrid's infamous yak nog. "No. Just no. Trust me, Thug."

"Besides," Ruffnut said, "you're not a dragon whisperer, so you're automatically disqualified."

"Wait, when did you start to hear dragons?" Fishlegs asked with genuine interest.

"I'm not one yet," she snapped. "But I'm working on it…" her eyes took on a feral glint, "now that Astrid gave me a reason to care."

"I'm almost afraid to ask," Tuffnut said.

"Well, ya know how people project their feelings without even knowing it, and dragon whispers can pick up those feelings?"

Tuffnut squinted. "Yeah, but you'd need to touch the dragon to sense what they're feeling."

"Or, better yet, touch my lover!" Ruffnut gleefully shouted. Everyone stared at her. "Ya know, to feel what he feels, he'd feel what I feel, all while we–"

Tuffnut smacked his helmet into hers. "Eew! We don't need to hear about that. Again. I swear, Astrid must hate us to get you all riled up about that before sending us on a trip with you."

Thuggory scowled at the reminder about Astrid. For years, he had his eyes set on her, and it wasn't just to strengthen the ties between the Meathead and Hooligan tribes. Astrid was always so visceral, so violent in a witty way, and her aloof nature only made her all that much more desirable. With his decisive strength and ambition, combined with her sharp wit and no-nonsense attitude, they would make an amazing team.

Then she just married herself off to… to… a talking fishbone for Thor's sake! It felt like a kick in the pants, a defacement of all virtue in the world!

"What a waste of potential," he grumbled.

The Night Fury snorted at that and his rider said, "What?"

"You know," Thuggory said grumpily. "Yeah, yeah, Red Death and whatnot, but it's sad for this to happen to someone so fierce." _And beautiful_, he thought to himself. Her strength came not from bulk but from the fire that burned within. Sure, she may have been a bit flat for his taste, but she was like a goddess in every other way.

"So sad for _what_ to happen?" Hiccup insisted. He then did something he had never done before, which was to hold Thuggory in a challenging stare, his gaze steely and unflinching. "Someone once said that the tongue can give life or death. Choose your words carefully."

Thuggory stared at him for a moment. Hiccup normally was very non-confrontational, a pacifist to the extreme. It felt quite out of place to hear a direct challenge in that nasally voice.

Still, Thuggory would not back down, especially to a little twig. "Oh, you know, to see Astrid waste away. She has always been strong and fierce." He glowered at Hiccup. "It's like yoking a lynx together with a three-legged lamb and expecting–"

SNAP!

Thuggory yelped in alarm. He _felt_ sharp teeth grazing his cheek. "What was _that_ all about?!" he shouted in fear that quickly transitioned to outrage.

"Not smart," Hiccup calmly said. Normally, he could take a joke, but the dragon on which he rode was clearly in a roiling boil.

"Hiccup, let's not kill the heir to our closest allied tribe," Fishlegs squeaked out. "Would be kinda awkward. Toothless, please help calm him down."

Thuggory was dumbfounded. None of that made sense. It was the dragon that snapped at him, not the rider.

"Whatever," Thuggory said dismissively. "C'mon, Forge, the sooner we get to the Lava Louts, the sooner we can go home." As his dragon veered, he said over his shoulder, "You should get some dragon nip for Toothless before he bites someone's head off."

########

* * *

########

Hiccup's eyes snapped open and he lifted his head. It was night time, but the hint of light to the East, in hues no human eye could detect, heralded the rising of the sun shortly. The air was pleasantly cool in his nostrils, but it was a bit muggier than he would have liked.

He was roused from his sleep by… something. His mind did not quite know, but his body felt restless, like there was a tension in the air.

A yawn split his mouth wide-open and his claws idly tilled the soil beneath as he scanned his surroundings – with his eyes _and_ his sensor lobes. Owls perched on branches, a few boar lay still not too far away where they had been resting earlier, and various other critters were scattered about, but none of it was any concern. It was amazing that this island had any wildlife at all considering that it was littered with jagged spires and ridges, which would also explain the lack of human habitation. Still, greenery managed to stubbornly find a perch wherever it could to support the wildlife.

Content that all was well, he lay his head back down, but his body already decided that sleep was a thing of the past. Resigned to wait until everyone woke up, he wiggled into a more comfortable position, curled up around Toothless and taking in the fading sounds of the night life. Snotlout and Fishlegs were having a snoring contest, with Snotlout claiming the prize for being the loudest while Fishleg's performance was the most cringeworthy. Well, instead of a contest, maybe it was more like a duet as they would stop snoring at the same time for a while, then start again in symphony. Tuffnut occasionally clucked and bawked like a chicken. Ruffnut would sometimes mumble about things she wanted to do with Eret. Disturbing things.

Finally, Hiccup couldn't take it anymore. The sky was starting to brighten anyway, so he pulled some fuel into his mouth and shot a small fireball straight up. It exploded above the foliage, sending an amusing ripple through the trees.

"ZHWAAA!" Snotlout shouted in alarm, startled by the loud noise.

"Not in the face!" Fishlegs croaked.

"Yes, face!" Ruffnut cheered, still asleep.

"Maaacey!" Tuffnut whined. He then blinked himself into the real world and curled up around his prized mace again.

Toothless blinked the sleep out of his eyes, and when he focused on Hiccup's, he reached forward to touch the scaly snout with a stern expression.

"Awake for long?" he asked.

_{Less than an hour.}_

"See anything?"

_{Nothing concerning.}_

Toothless relaxed. "Not worried, then."

After complaining about being woken up so early, everyone spread out to answer nature's call before reconvening to munch on some jerky. None of the dragons were hungry yet, as they had eaten last night, but Hookfang and Meatlug cleaned up the remaining meat and bones from the boar carcass from last night. The few scavengers and predators on this island had been wise to stay away during the night.

Everyone saddled their dragons, and Toothless rigged up the tailfin – a task in which he was quite proficient by now. After Hiccup shifted his weight around and stretched to test the fit, he gave a friendly little chuff to which Toothless responded with a friendly slap on the flank.

The rider then reached into a pocket on the saddle that normally housed his journal, fished out a drawstring bag that was also tethered to the saddle, and peered inside to see the all-important gemstone in all of its dull and empty glory. One could not be too cautious when transporting something so irreplaceable, but bringing it was necessary to test with any larger lenses the tribe would likely have on the island. Satisfied, he put it back in the bag, cinched the drawstring, tucked it into the saddle pocket, and tucked in the slack on the safety tether.

"Ugh," Fishlegs groaned as he scanned the sky. "Not liking those clouds. You know the saying; red sky in morning–"

"This trip is so boring!" Tuffnut whined.

"Not quite how the saying goes, but close enough," Snotlout chimed in.

"I hope we at least get captured by dragon trappers or something to spice things up."

Ruffnut jammed a finger into her brother's chest. "If I didn't need this thing so badly to get Eret, I'd be onboard with you there, but I'm not, so don't push your luck.

Hiccup wasn't concerned about the weather. If anything, some good cloud cover would help them fly unseen by eyes below. Besides, they were only a morning's flight away from their destination, hardly a hop and a skip. By noon, they would reach the Hysteric tribe where they would use the pelts and seal skins they had packed along as a downpayment on a large order. Once details were hashed out regarding cost and time to produce the lenses, a ship could be sent over to conclude the trade.

If everything went well, he would be holding his child in his own human hands.

In theory.

Hopefully.

"Do we really have to go now?" Tuffnut whined before letting out a massive yawn.

"Yeah, the sun's not even up yet," Snotlout said.

"I dunno if the weather will get any better before it gets worse," Fishlegs said.

Hiccup agreed with Fishlegs, so he urged the riders onto their dragons – his teeth were _really_ good at that. Up in the air they all went, and the grousing and grumbling gave way to the inexhaustible excitement of flight. However, the clouds quickly became larger and darker, and gusts of wind started to buffet them.

"Uhh, maybe we should go back to that island and wait this one out?" Fishlegs suggested, raising his voice to be heard over the wind.

"Nah, it aint that bad," Ruffnut shouted back.

Rain suddenly started to hammer them in sheets.

"I retract my previous statement!"

"Ugh, not like!" Toothless whined.

Lightning split the sky in multiple directions and thunder split their ears.

"Yeah, we should land and wait this one out." Snotlout shouted. "Our island has places to shelter from the wind."

Everyone instantly turned around and frantically flew for the island. The gusts became more powerful, the temperature plummeted, and thunder boomed all around, the bolts increasing in frequency until it seemed the entire sky was alive with a nonstop shower of sparks.

It was only when a particularly powerful gust flipped Hiccup around and tossed him like a leaf that he realized he had lost the other dragons and riders. He let out a roar, but nobody responded.

"What you see?" Toothless shouted at his dragon. His voice was ripped away by the wind, but the projected thought still carried, and Hiccup looked around, straining to see what he could through his transparent inner eyelid. Blinding daggers of light and curtains of darkness were all that he could see.

"Not with eyes." Toothless slapped a sensor lobe. "With these!"

Hiccup felt around, allowing instincts to flit the sensor lobes around to feel what he could. The lightning became more frequent, and each bolt sent a dizzying spike through his head, but between the bolts, he could pick up a few things. Hookfang, Meatlug, and Barf and Belch were scattered far and wide, and they were ready for this storm to be done and over with. The riders were miserable, but they've endured biting wind and soaking rain before. It was hard to focus, though, as all this lightning scrambled his senses like eggs in a pan.

Oh, and he could also detect a creature with overwhelmingly intense hatred and an uncompromising desire to kill the black dragon.

Hiccup barked in alarm and looked back at Toothless' grim face. They both knew the signs.

A Skrill was hunting for him.


	13. Scourged

**A/N:  
**Willow Walker, oh, yes! Muahahahahaaaa!

Dragonrider's Fury, thanks for the kind words.

Toothlessgolfer, yep, Skrill for sure. I think we both know better than to hope that nobody gets zapped. :P

* * *

**Scourged**

Over the past several years, Hiccup had picked up bits of information about the Skrill. Purple in color, a bit larger than a Nadder, two legs, nasty claws at the "wrists" of their wings, and spikes along the back, belly, and tail. They would follow storms, feeding off of the lightning in the clouds and redirecting it as they pleased. Even if their lightning appeared to be depleted, or if they were dead, they always seemed to have enough in reserve to stun or kill someone. They were the only species of dragons known to hunt and kill solely for entertainment purposes as opposed to feeding or protecting themselves and their kin.

Extremely dangerous. Kill on sight.

Even Stoick, many years ago, once told Hiccup, "If you look up and see a Skrill, you're in the wrong place. That's not just Hiccup advice, that's anyone-who-doesn't-fancy-dying-quite-yet advice."

During dragon training, even though no Skrill had been seen for years, Gobber made sure everyone knew their facts.

"Remember," he had said as he paced back and forth in the Great Hall, "Whenever a Skrill shoots lightning, it'll hit something. Instantly. Don't ever doubt that."

"Like how a Night Fury never misses!" Hiccup tossed in excitedly, barely containing his overflowing excitement about the specimen he had in the cove at the time.

"NO!" Gobber shouted so fiercely that everyone cringed and leaned back. "What ah'm sayin' is that there's no difference between a Skrill shooting out lightning and someone or some_thing_ getting hit by it. There's no fireball, no noise ta warn ya or projectile ta dodge, no shield or armor tha' can protect ya. If yer the target, ya don't know it until yer dead. Ya just throw down yer shield 'n pray ta Thor that ya can kill it before it kills ya. Never ferget that."

In later days, Hiccup had learned from books and veterans like Gobber that lightning seemed to follow certain rules. It almost never struck more than one target at a time, and when it did strike, it was as hasty as one might imagine, going for the closest target it could, so standing behind someone granted some protection. However, there were exceptions to this rule. Lightning hated iron more than wood and so it would go past a tree to incinerate a Viking clad in chainmail. However, those who wore cloth or leather armor and stuck with stone warhammers or bone spears tended to get fried by lightning less often than their sword-wielding counterparts.

During periods when Skrills were at large, the tribes had learned to stick tall iron poles into the ground throughout the village as the lightning was more likely to hit one of these poles than a Viking. In fact, it was just as likely to strike a dragon as anything else, which also helped to even the odds. According to legend, this may explain why Skrill would appear in raids only for a few seasons, and then not at all for several years.

All of this, every shred of knowledge that Hiccup had ever learned about Skrill, flashed through his mind in an instant. It wasn't even a distraction as he frantically flapped his wings in an effort to fight against the unpredictable gales to stay his course towards... well, he had no clue where to go, but remaining inside the storm clouds probably was not wise.

"Stay in clouds!" Toothless shouted over the gale. "Lightning like to hit clouds as much as dragon. Skrill need almost touch you to make lightning hit you in cloud."

Hiccup winced at each blindingly bright flash of lightning that felt like a dagger stabbing his brain. Flying in this wind and pelting rain was tiring him out, and he felt blind and deaf with all the noise.

_{We cannot stay here forever, and I don't think I could even find the Skrill up here let alone fight it!}_

Toothless hummed in thought.

_{What about flying above the clouds? The wind would be calmer there.}_

"No! Skrill shoot us, we die! No hiding up there! Go down not up, to island. Trees, large rocks, ridges, they all help."

Hiccup grunted his acknowledgment and folded his wings. He figured he had to be above the island by now, so plummeting straight down should be a good idea–

Something was shooting up directly at him, and he flared his wings with a panicked screech to level out and avoid contact. He had speed on his side, though, so long as his wings only _felt_ like they were being torn from their sockets. Looking behind, he saw only blinding flashes of lightning, but he suddenly had the thought to look up just as a Skrill shot down from above.

He instantly tucked one wing in to roll over, narrowly dodging the dragon, but it was inevitable that he would be struck by lightning as it passed by. For an instant, he could see little lightning bolts arcing across the spines and scales of the dragon, and he felt a tingling sensation that he just knew heralded his imminent demise. All he could do was roll around to place his body between Toothless and certain death–

The sky flashed white. The sound was deafening.

But Hiccup felt... well, nothing, surprisingly, other than a momentary tingle. For a moment, he could sense relief from Toothless, frustration from the Skrill, and surprise from both.

"We not dead?" Toothless asked breathlessly.

Apparently not. Hiccup wouldn't question providence, so he made the snap decision to shoot straight down. The island wasn't directly below as he had thought, but they were close to the shoreline, so he shot for it as fast as he could, blinking at the white spots in his vision. Behind him, shrieks of the Skrill could be heard as it chased him. In fact, there was something about those noises, and a suspicion arose that filled him with dread. He spared a quick flick of his head to look back, relishing the ability to see without being constantly blinded, but what he saw made his heart plummet.

He was not being chased by a Skrill.

He was being chased by _two_ Skrills.

Toothless sensed that something was bothering Hiccup and asked about it. "Not like!" he frantically shouted when told. "Trees! Into trees!"

Hiccup complied, shooting over the shore of flat rocks, spurred onward at reckless speed by the floating, tingling sensation that he was learning preceded a lightning bolt. He folded his wings before even touching the ground and shot into the treeline, his entire being focused on keeping his paws beneath him to avoid flipping over and crushing Toothless as he skidded across the ground. It wasn't an instant later that he saw, through the pine needles and dirt thrown up from his landing, his profile illuminated in bright white light against the foliage ahead, followed immediately by two loud cracks of thunder from behind. He cast a quick glance back to see wooden shrapnel exploding out in all directions.

Now that there wasn't a constant barrage of lightning, he could actually focus on his surroundings without his brain crying out in pain. Skrill could carry only so much lightning in them, and they'd blown it all with those two large blasts, so they were ascending to collect some more. Even without looking with his eyes, his array of sensor lobes that crowned his head allowed him to feel the direction of the twin sources of hatred and anger, so he could "watch" them fly into the clouds without breaking stride or losing focus on his immediate surroundings. He could also sense some characteristics of their mental hum, confirming his suspicion that one was male while the other was female.

Hiccup wasted no time in running deeper inland. He recalled having seen lots of tall ridges and deep gullies, and he planned to use those to his advantage. By the time the Skrills returned, he was deep in the forest and sheltered by tall pines and a rocky spire.

The Skrills settled into circling above like sharks inspecting a curiosity. Hiccup took this opportunity to try to reach out to them and find a peaceful resolution.

_{Lightning dragons, why are you trying to kill me? I have no intent to threaten you. Leave me alone and I will gladly leave you undisturbed. If I have inadvertently landed on your nesting grounds, I wish only to leave you in peace.}_

The response was depressingly predictable from past run-ins. _{Die black dragon!}_

At the same time, lightning flashed above, striking the rocky spire and sending fractured boulders crashing down. Hiccup fled in haste, and another bolt struck a tree behind him. He yelped when a splinter of wood as wide as his tail and twice as long impaled the ground just past his wingtip. Another bolt struck soon after, sending him scurrying along underneath a ridge to find some more tall trees for protection.

It was only at this point that he realized they were taking turns shooting out their lightning so that one was always presenting a threat while the other ascended to fill up again. The sight of a rocky clearing past the treeline and the sound of crashing waves made him realize something else; he was being herded. They were trying to flush him out of cover!

Hiccup felt that tingling sensation that heralded a lightning bolt, and a tree behind him exploded into charred fragments. Instead of fleeing away from it, he spun around and ran towards it, checking the skies to confirm that the other Skrill was still descending, granting him a very narrow window. He sprinted across a clearing, away from the shoreline, and made it under cover just as another tree exploded into splinters.

"We can't do this long!" Toothless shouted over the driving rain.

_{What else can we do?!}_

"I not know!" Toothless hissed in frustration. "Not fly away in this storm. Wait for storm to pass? Ah! Need find cave! Yes! Safe place to rest! Lightning not good there, you have advantage!"

It sounded like a good plan, but this island wasn't exactly littered with caves. There were some ravines or a cleft in a large boulder, but they would not suffice. Remaining in the forest was dangerous as it was only a matter of time until he would grow weary or his luck would run out.

When he had first descended on this island last night, his sharp eyes had spotted what might have been a cave entrance towards the center of the island. There was a mountain that looked like it had been sheared right in half from top to bottom by the gods themselves. Halfway up the flat side was a black void that had to be the mouth of a cave. However, getting there now would be suicide as it was out in the open.

"Hrrrr…" Toothless suddenly straightened in the saddle. "Use fire! You can feel when lighting about to strike. Don't shoot fire then, but shoot after. Yes! Fly up some, shoot fire, dive back down when lightning about to strike."

Hiccup glanced up at the Skrill swooping above, hardly visible to his eyes but plain to see with his sensor lobes. This was the male that was trying to flush him from cover while his mate rose to the clouds.

_{But if I shoot fire at the Skrill, I might injure or kill him.}_

Toothless snorted and slapped a sensor lobe. "Silly Firefly! If you not kill them then they kill us. Do you want them kill you?"

Hiccup didn't answer. He had been trying to reason with the Skrills, to explain that allowing him to flee would be safer for them than forcing him to defend himself, but the response was always the same.

"Do you want them kill me?"

Lightning struck a rocky formation that looked like a large tooth growing up from the ground, shattering the tip of it and shooting debris everywhere. Hiccup could see that the female was still up in the storm clouds, so he took that opportunity to sprint up the rocky tooth and spread his wings to take flight. He flew right at the male Skrill that had just shot its lightning, already at the same altitude, gathering a large fireball in his throat. Fear washed over the Skrill at this unanticipated reaction, and he quickly backwinged to retreat as Hiccup shot out his fireball.

The Skrill let out a weaker bolt of lightning that tore open the sky between himself and the fireball, and the following explosion shoved them both away from each other, but that was all part of Hiccup's plan. He had already oriented himself to make use of that great shove towards the large rocky spire so that he could build up even more speed. The female Skrill was already descending from the clouds, full of fury and crackling with deadly power, but Hiccup was committed. He was so high that the cave was closer than the forest below, and he flapped his wings hard a few more times to clear the distance.

He shot into the opening as straight as an arrow, wings tucked in just in time to barely brush against the walls. Even as he landed hard and focused on skidding to a stop, he heard a deafening boom behind him. Light flashed bright and white, then there was a deafening rumble that filled the cave, followed by absolute darkness. The Skrill's strike had hit the lip of the cave and collapsed the ceiling in behind him.

For better or for worse, they were trapped.

########

* * *

########

It was a dark and stormy night.

Toothless recalled having heard other land-striders sometimes begin a story that way, and it always brought up imagery of lightning, howling winds, and pattering rain.

Inside the cave, though, there was nothing. He could not see, and were it not for Firefly's panting, he would have thought he had gone deaf.

Complete darkness surrounded him, far deeper than anything he had ever experienced even as a land-strider. As a Night Fury, he was at one with darkness because it held no secret from him, but this was entirely different. The darkness was enfolded around him, suffocating him, choking the life from his lungs. The walls were closing in, and at any moment, they would crush him.

"Firefly!" He cried out in despair.

_{Be at peace, Toothless, we are fine.}_ Light leaped into his eyes as his dragon let out a small trickle of burning fuel to illuminate their surroundings, and Toothless took a deep breath as the oppressive darkness lifted. _{There is a torch in the saddlebag. Pull it out and light it up.}_

Toothless let out a relieved sigh at the light and unfastened the tethers holding him into the saddle. As comforting as it was to bask in the glow from his dragon's maw, he knew that Firefly was panting only a moment ago and could not inhale while holding the flame, so Toothless hastily slid down and rummaged around for the torch; Firefly wisely closed his eyes as the torch was lit since his pupils were dilated very wide. The warm and steady light, and the quiet hiss of the flame, instantly soothed away that feeling that had caused him to panic. He suddenly felt calm and relaxed here in this quiet place that was totally at odds with where they had just come from.

The saddle included a loop to secure the torch – an addition Firefly had added after enough stubbed toes and bruised shins from other cave explorations – so Toothless put it to use before jumping back into the saddle, laying down on his stomach and wrapping his hands around the dragon's neck. He closed his little land-strider eyes and looked through the superior sight that Firefly was helpfully projecting for his rider.

As they padded along, Toothless and his dragon both took some deep breaths to eventually slow down their panting. They reassured each other that the situation wasn't too bad. Sure, there were two murderous Skrills out there in the thunderstorm that wanted nothing more than to kill Firefly, but for the moment, things were calm and peaceful. Maybe the storm would pass on and the Skrills would move along with it.

The tunnel opened up into a chamber that would make a nice nest for a mated pair and their hatchlings. In fact, he couldn't help but wonder…

_{There are eggs in here!}_

Toothless saw them too. At the rear, tucked into a nest of interwoven branches, were three eggs, their shells purple and jagged. These were definitely Skrill eggs, so it was with a victorious grin that Toothless slid down to the ground, scampered over to the eggs, lifted his leg – the one with the metal prosthetic foot – and–

He was yanked back by his scruff to land gently on his rear.

_{What are you doing?!}_

Toothless looked back at his dragon, the head of which was a shadow of a profile against the torch behind it. "These eggs of lightning dragons. Skrill. You hear what traders say. What fish catchers and dragon riders say. No sign of Skrill for years. Thought they all gone. These may be last in world."

_{You can't just destroy these eggs!}_

Toothless stood and tapped at the stone ground with his iron prosthetic thoughtfully. "Think I can, with this. If not, I know you can. Just shoot fireball at–"

Firefly screeched, affronted. _{I cannot do that! They're innocent! They've done nothing wrong!}_

Toothless stared at his dragon as if he had grown a second shadowy head. Firefly being Firefly again. "They Skrill. Skrill enemy to Night Fury. Always try kill us. Always full of hate."

Firefly sighed. _{Are they hatched that way, or is this hatred something they learn from their dam and sire? Can you really blame them for acting on principles they've learned?}_

Toothless thought about that for a moment. "Not know. Not care." He started to walk back towards the eggs, but a gummy maw clamped down around his arm. "Firefly!" he whined.

_{Destroying these like this simply is not right.}_

"Not– Not right?!" Toothless screeched, his arms waving in exasperation. "These Skrill! They hunt and kill me and kin! They bad! Very bad! These grow up into–" he gestured towards the blocked mouth of the cave. "Those!"

He huffed and turned to look at the eggs again. He had been attacked by Skrill in past years, without provocation, warning, or mercy. Firefly had almost died from that, and they both still carried scars… which was more than Toothless could say for his dead sire. It was simply in a Skrill's nature to hate and kill without reservation, especially Night Furies.

"Only good Skrill is dead Skrill."

Through his contact with his dragon, he saw Firefly's sire, Stalwart – or Stoick if one went by his land-strider name – saying, "Son, if there is only one thing you ever learn from me, let it be this: the only good dragon is a dead dragon. _Never_ forget that. Ever!"

Instantly, Stoick was replaced by Gobber addressing his students in dragon training, saying, "Remember, dragons never show mercy, so don't ya either. They _always_ go fer the kill."

Gobber was then replaced by the cover to the "book of dragons", the old one before the dragon war ended, on which was written in large runes, "The only good dragon is a dead dragon." The book was replaced by Hooligan ships as they set sail for a nest hunt, years ago when the tribe's crest was a Monstrous Nightmare with its torso impaled by two swords.

Then, Toothless was in the forest. He was Firefly, staring down at the Night Fury twined up at his feet, knife in hand. "I'm gonna kill you, dragon. I'm gonna cut out your heart and bring it to my father, for I am a Viking. I AM A VIKING!"

_{What you say about the Skrill, my kind said about your kind. You tell me if there is no value in questioning tradition_._}_

Toothless huffed in irritation. "That different. Not same. You show mercy to Skrill and it will–"

He was cut off by loud, rolling thunder. They looked around and saw dust falling from the ceiling of the cave tunnel, over by the caved-in entrance. Another lightning bolt struck the far side of the blockade, followed by frantic scraping and screeches from without. The Skrills were trying to get in.

Instantly, Toothless forgot about the eggs and thought about their options. They would get in eventually, and when they did, they would be fuming mad. They would also be low on lightning, but they would still be dangerous. Slipping past them to fly off would not work with the unpredictable winds of the thunderstorm, so the only option left was to stand their ground and fight. Maybe, just maybe, they could hold the eggs hostage and use them to negotiate a safe escape…

No, the Skrills weren't in a negotiating mood even in the best of moods. A fight against them was inevitable, but a tired Night Fury and a land-strider wasn't exactly overwhelming odds.

_{Toothless, up in the sky, we got hit by lightning and I thought we would both die, but we didn't. Why?}_

Toothless hummed at that, looking around for inspiration. The torch flickered for a moment. It would not last much longer, making him even less effective in the fight to come. He wished he was back in his Night Fury body and Firefly was in his. Firefly was clever and quick-witted. He would have been able to figure out a way out of this if he only had his land-strider brain with its amazing imagination. If only they never touched that gemstone.

That stupid little gemstone.

He really hated that gemstone.

It was an evil thing, mocking them from where it sat in its evil lair–

"Ha!" Toothless rushed forward and reached into the saddle's pocket that held the gemstone. Sure enough, there was a charred hole in the leather clear through, wide enough to stick a couple fingers through. He fished out the drawstring bag, which also had a hole, and pulled out the gemstone. In its smooth, edgeless surface was the slightest hint of an interesting glow within from the torchlight.

Firefly watched all this and was staring at the stone. Toothless could feel the dragon concentrating, scolding himself as he just knew that he would have already made the leap in logic here, so Toothless proudly declared, "This stone get hit instead of us. Lightning hate stone more than iron or leather or us, so it hit stone instead of us!"

Firefly gave a toothless grin. _{So, what you're saying is that we are impervious to their lightning? Their lightning bolts cannot harm us?}_

"Hrrrr, maybe? Skrill strike us from left, and stone on left. What if Skrill on right. Would lightning go through you to get to stone? Also, bag and saddle have hole from one strike. More strikes, more holes. Stone will fall out after not many. I surprised it still here after running and leaping and flying so much."

_{We may still be able to use this to protect us. However, I don't know if lightning will damage this stone. It may be damaged already for all we know.}_

Toothless shrugged. "Better life long like this than die now."

Firefly chuffed at that. With a goal in mind, a problem that only needed to be fleshed out with details was something he could work with. _{Inside the saddlebag, I have some parts for repairing the tailfin. You will find some strips of iron. Take those out.}_

Those iron bands were the product of a fascinating artifact that Firefly had made years ago. Iron bands were used to hold buckets and barrels together, and Gobber used to form them with a hammer. Firefly invented a thing with a crank that would take an iron bar, hot from the forge, and mash it down little by little to form a band. Being so smooth, with a thickness that never varied, each barrel required less iron to make, which excited Gobber to no end.

Firefly had also constructed a smaller one, with rollers smooth enough that he could make iron bands as wide as a finger and thin enough to wrap around one. These allowed him to make the tailfin even lighter and more durable. Toothless didn't quite understand it all, but that didn't matter. It was land-strider magic.

Toothless pulled out a few iron bands, flexing them experimentally.

_{Good. Now, let's go check out the sticks in this nest and see if we can find something useful.}_

Toothless grinned lovingly at his dear Firefly, who was suddenly in a very inventive mood.

They could always destroy the eggs later.


	14. Zapped

**A/N:  
**I dunno why, but I have the hardest time making myself write a chapter that has high-octane fights. At least, that's the case with this chapter and the ones before and after. Thanks to Deadly-Bagel for sticking this out with me as my beta buddy, and thank you, my dear reader, for the massive compliment in deciding that my story is worth your time.

Epclaymore, Haha, yes, drama island indeed. The tribe has spoken, and someone will be voted off the island.

Toothlessgolfer, I too would like to think that the Skrill could learn to let it go and give peace a chance, but to misquote Stoick, "Dragons who kill without reason cannot be reasoned with." In my storyboard, I initially had Hiccup and Toothless use the Skrill eggs to barter for their freedom to escape, but I think I like this alternate plot better.

Dragonrider's Fury, you've probably guessed it by now, but you're about to see how Hiccup and Toothless are about to go all MacGuyver on us with the gemstone, sticks, and iron bands. Also, as you and toothlessgolfer both noted, yes, it sure is convenient that the gemstone attracts lightning, but we'll soon see how this deus ex machina plays into the bigger picture.

* * *

**Zapped**

A few weeks ago, Toothless had learned some basic knot-tying skills from the Thorston twins. In retrospect, it should have been no surprise that they would have set him to the task of trying to tie his dragon's legs together while sleeping.

It didn't go so well for Toothless, though. He of all people should have known to avoid brushing against Hiccup's paws, and when Hiccup was startled from sleep to see his rider with a very guilty grin on his face and a length of rope in his hands, he discovered that he could tie his rider's wrists and ankles together using the limited manual dexterity afforded by his teeth and a couple claws. Good times.

As amusing as that was, Hiccup was very glad that Toothless knew his knots, as his nimble fingers and opposable thumbs were necessary to construct what they were calling the "Lightning rod". The gemstone that had forced their souls to swap bodies just might be their secret weapon in dealing with the Skrill. When they had been struck by lightning up in the clouds, it was clear that the gemstone took the hit for them as evidenced by the burned hole from the lightning punching through the leather to get to the stone. Hopefully, with this thing mounted at the end of a stick that Toothless could point in any direction, they could be sure of it protecting them from lightning strikes from all sides.

A quick ransack of the Skrill's nest had turned up a sturdy stick with three prongs extending out at one point, which

Hiccup was able to quickly trim to size with his teeth, resulting in a stick with a cradle for the gemstone to rest in. Toothless was able to bend three iron bands from the saddlebag with his bare hands to form them around the gemstone, securing it in its wooden cradle, and some leather lace lashed the iron bands to the stick. In the end, it looked a little like a walking stick with a large gemstone mounted on top.

It looked like the invention of someone with too much time and not enough purpose in life, but the hope was that the Skrill's lightning would go through or around the metal bands to hit the gemstone without destroying anything; otherwise, this would save them from only one lightning bolt. Toothless even made an "improvement" when he realized that the handle of his belt knife could be lashed to the stick as well, so their lightning rod now featured a blade extending past the gemstone for… for…

_{What do you even plan to do with that little blade anyway?}_

"If we not able flee and must fight, this give me range. More safe than knife in hand."

_{So, your plan is to poke one of them enough to make them even angrier?}_

Toothless shrugged. "They will know I not harmless. If die, then die fighting."

Hiccup sighed. _Toothless being Toothless._

He stopped, though, and studied his rider, whose eyes were set in steely determination. He had to remind himself that this was someone who had known only fighting for his whole life. Except for the past few months, he was a dragon, and dragons did everything in a very physical way. It was not uncommon for them to fight until one of them died or was forced to retreat whenever there was a contest for food, mates, or nesting grounds. Often, they would even fight just because they were bored. On top of all that, most of his life was spent in the Red Death's thrall where he was made to attack in the raids.

Even just hatching was a battle he could not afford to lose as his eggshell would have suffocated him if he didn't manage to break through on his own. Though it seemed so out of place in the body of "the village fishbone", Hiccup had to remind himself that he was looking at a battle-hardened warrior who had fought for everything in his life since the day he hatched. Inside, he was a stone-cold killer through and through. No hesitation, no mercy, no remorse. His mind was that of the one dragon that all Vikings were told to hide from.

Toothless gave a little smile. "Not worry. We good. You strong, have fire." He hefted the stick in his hands and a wide grin split his face. "And Skrill not have fire now."

Hiccup nodded and forced a gummy smile.

Outside, the Skrills were frantically clawing at the rocks that blocked the entrance to the cave, trying to force their way in. Well, they would be more successful once they figured out to stop madly scrabbling at the rock and actually–

_{Look, I figured it out! Hook both wing claws around rock and pull back, then push aside. This works much better.}_

_{Good. We will be inside soon and we will protect our eggs.}_

_{And kill the black dragon!}_

_{Yes, kill him!}_

_{Strike him with lightning and watch him flop around like a fish!}_

_{Burn him to ash!}_

_{Eat his heart!}_

_{Not long, now.}_

Hiccup sighed.

Toothless gave a hard stare at his dragon. "Make fireball big. Very very big."

Hiccup whined at that. The plan was to shoot at the rocks blocking the mouth of the cave to clear a way out and escape before the Skrills could enter and force a fight. A weaker blast would be sufficient to clear an opening, but it could be made powerful enough that the rocks thrown by the explosion could injure or even kill the Skrills who were currently trying to force their way in. That would hardly be a good start in negotiating–

He let out a little yelp as something twisted one of his sensor lobes. "I know you, Firefly. Big fireball. If kill them then good. If not then we fight. I not think we can flee. We kill them or they kill us. Not can do this Firefly way and make enemies into friends."

Hiccup sighed and nodded. He knew that Toothless was right. As fast as he was, he would be tossed around in the stormy winds in which the Skrills seemed to be very much at home. Unless they suddenly changed their tune and allowed him to fly away, a confrontation would be inevitable.

He prepared to gather fuel in his throat for a fireball. He literally lacked the imagination to think up another creative way out, so he had to trust Toothless… just like how Toothless, when he was a dragon, always trusted his rider.

"Wait!"

Toothless unfastened his tethers and slid down to flatten himself under Hiccup's belly.

"Fire not only burn. It push. Very hard. I know. I use fire in cave like this before. Fire push on all parts of me so hard I think it crush me as land-strider. Lay on me, and close eyes. Scrunch nose. Flatten lobes to head. Fire is very loud and will try squish you like bug.

Hiccup nodded and lowered himself down on top of Toothless. It made sense. A Night Fury's fireball could knock down a sturdy observation tower, and if all that explosive power was confined to a little cave…

"Big fire," came the muffled reminder from below. "Very very big. We good."

Hiccup pulled fuel into his mouth. The banshee shriek of a Night Fury on a fire run was not particularly loud, as they weren't flying, and it would probably go unnoticed by the Skrill outside. He let the fireball grow larger and larger, pushing his limits of comfort and safety. With his teeth retracted, he flung his head and let it out. The fireball shot straight down the tunnel towards the pile of rocks as he hastily covered his face with his paws while pressing himself down over Toothless.

BOOM!

The blast was deafening, even though Hiccup flattened his ear lobes. True to Toothless' prediction, he could feel the fireball trying to crush him from all sides, but it was over in an instant. Without wasting any time, he stood so that Toothless could hastily mount up.

_{Are your tethers secure?}_

"Yes."

Hiccup shook himself and thrashed around to test things out. Satisfied, he ran forward. He could tell that the Skrills were still recovering from the blast, so he shot straight out and opened his wings. Looking around, he could see the male Skrill on the ground with what appeared to be an injured wing that prevented flight. The female was unharmed and regained her stability in the air. Both were fuming mad.

Hiccup angled up into the sky, but the strong winds kept tossing and flipping him around. Against all known machinations of the physical world, the Skrill quickly closed the distance, hardly affected by the buffeting winds. She grazed past, shooting out a lightning bolt that went straight into the gemstone on the stick. Hiccup and Toothless roared and cackled at their little victory.

"It work!" Toothless howled. "It really work!"

The Skrill flew into the clouds to refill and shot past them again with another lightning bolt that was also nullified, to her bewilderment. Abandoning that approach, she shot straight at them, and Hiccup barely managed to pull the leading edge of his right wing away from her snapping jaws.

"Not good up here!" Toothless shouted. "Need fight on ground."

_{But there's a second Skrill down there. Only this one can fly.}_

The Skrill came at them again, and before he knew it, Hiccup found a claw in his left shoulder. The Skrill lunged her toothy maw forward, but a reflexive swipe of his claws at her neck forced her to twist around to flee.

"Better two down there than one up here!" Toothless shouted.

Hiccup knew that Toothless was right. Already, he was flagging, having been worn out even before he started fighting the erratic gusts. Besides, it was anyone's guess how long the lightning rod would protect them, so he folded his wings and dropped, touching down in a clearing.

The male Skrill on the ground rushed in and learned a similar lesson about how ineffective his lightning was. The female joined her mate and the two immediately attacked Hiccup. He had to remind himself that these were dragons, not humans, and these were the berserkers of dragonkind. There was no compromising, no declaring war before attacking, no laughing and shouting, "Haha, I have you right where I want you, so I shall now spend an inordinate amount of time gloating over you while your rescue comes unbeknownst to me!" as the dragon trappers often did. There was only a swift death to the weaker force.

He tried to dance around them and lose them in the forest, but they were faster than they looked. All caution was thrown to the wind on both sides, and Hiccup fought with all his might, nothing held back. He could feel rage washing over himself, sharpening his sense and channeling all of his strength into his assault, but he had a handicap, and the Skrill knew it. Toothless was riding on his back, and a single bite or a swipe of a wing from either of them could kill him instantly.

Hiccup dodged a swipe of a Skrill's wing at Toothless with a sudden leap to the side, but the claw managed to snag the leather straps tethering him to his dragon. At the same instant that Hiccup watched his rider sail off his dragon, he felt a twinge of lightning and his entire body floundered and spasmed. Teeth came down around his neck and haunches.

It was over and he knew it. He could feel claws in his shoulder, and he knew the killing bite to his throat was about to come. He had only one thing to say to his killers.

_{After you're done with me, please spare my rider.}_

The Skrill in front of him lunged forward and Hiccup felt the top of his head smack against a rock before all went black.

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"Hiccup!"

Hiccup lethargically blinked his way into the waking world, and the first thought that came to his foggy mind was about the terrible dream he had in which he was attacked by a couple Skrills and died.

His next thought was about how odd it was that he was lying on his back. He never slept on his back, either as a human or a dragon, as that was a recipe for a stiff neck in the morning.

A white-hot stream of fire blazed in front of him and he closed his eyes against the heat. Everything suddenly came back to his addled mind. He had thought he was dead, but that clearly was not the case, and while his neck hurt a lot, he found he could still inhale.

"Hiccup! Wake up!"

That was Astrid's frantic shouting.

_What in Thor's name is she doing here?!_

Off to the side, a Deadly Nadder side-stepped a snap from a Skrill, and her tail gave a quill-laden riposte.

_{Rise up and fight, Firefly!}_

That was Stormfly!

Hiccup rolled to his paws and found that he could stand, even though it felt like his left-rear leg was on fire from the inside.

It was at that moment, as he saw a fresh bleeding cut on Astrid's shoulder, that he realized the stakes. He was not just fighting for his life, or for Toothless, but also for his wife and her dragon. If they lost this fight, their child would have no parents, and the entire tribe would be devastated. If anything happened to Astrid...

Toothless had always been a brawler, one who never shied away from a fight. That fighting spirit remained in the Night Fury's instincts, even with Hiccup at the helm, and it was a constant battle against the rage and fury, to wrestle it to the ground and force it to submit to his more peaceful ways.

However, as he looked on Astrid's frantic expression and sensed the true terror she was feeling, a rage like none he had ever felt exploded into a roaring inferno. The former rage he had subdued in days past was a whimpering welp compared to what he felt pushing against him, but he did not fight it this time. Instead, he opened the door and stepped aside, embracing his role as a passenger instead of the helmsman, watching with awe as the rage blazed hotter and hotter.

He was not Hiccup. He was a Night Fury, the unholy offspring of lightning and death, ferocity given form. Those who he loved were in danger, and he would deliver death to all who opposed him.

A scalding hot breath left the Night Fury's mouth as his claws sank into the grass, and it felt like his whole body was afire with the sheer fury burning within. He drew a deep breath, feeling the air enrich and empower his muscles as it splintered and crackled in his throat.

The Night Fury did not roar at the Skrills, but a snarl drifted from his throat, soft and sharp, a gentle whisper of certain death. He stared down his prey, absolutely motionless, inhaling the fragrance of fear wafting from them. He took a menacing step forward and his prey shifted their weight uneasily. Another step and they retreated a pace.

He threw himself at the nearest Skrill, the female, who almost managed to avoid a set of claws raking bloody gashes along her side. The male swiped a wing at Astrid and she rolled under it, but he continued the motion to whip his tail at her. Hiccup lunged to intercept, causing the Skrill to rear back and roar at him, but that roar was quickly cut off as Toothless thrust the blade on his lightning rod into the dragon's side. A brief spark of lightning lanced the stick before a scrape of the Skrill's leg sent it flying off to the side.

"Ha, I take your lightning!" Toothless crowed.

To the Night Fury, as he mercilessly snapped and clawed at the female, all that mattered was that his prey had one less fang to bite him with.

The male Skrill lunged at Toothless, but Astrid's ax and Hiccup's claws forced him to rethink his attack plan. With a moment of reprieve on that front, Hiccup spun around to see the female snapping at Stormfly's wing. A flash of lightning sent her spasming, but Hiccup's claws into the Skrill's rear forced her to spin around on him. She charged, but a quick sidestep and a set of ragged tears in her flank were her only gain.

_{Ignore the land-striders!}_

_{Kill the black dragon!}_

A shout from Astrid made him spin around to ward off the male charging him, and he barely had time to duck away from a snap of the female's teeth. The three dragons twisted around each other in a frenzied maelstrom with Astrid and Toothless trying with little success to contribute much at all.

Hiccup managed to land a swipe along the male's neck, claws dragging bloody tears in their wake, granting him purchase to lunge forward and bite down on the Skrill's wing. A hard twist of his neck rewarded him with a loud CRACK! The Skrill yelped in pain and tore off into the forest. Hiccup turned his full attention to the female, who spun around and took off towards the clouds.

_Oh no you don't!_

He lunged after her and caught her tail in his mouth, pulling back to slam her into the ground, but that proved to be a mistake. He felt a searing bolt of pain in his head and he flopped down flat. The Skrill started to twist around to bite him, but was instead forced to flee as Astrid charged forward with a battle cry and her raised ax.

Hiccup shook the dizziness out of his head. The lightning blast was very weak, a sure sign that the Skrill was depleted, but she was flying up towards the clouds to refill, so Hiccup took off and gave chase. He flicked his tailfin, and without weight on the control pedal next to the saddle, he heard the telltale clicks of a pair of spring-loaded brackets snapping into position to hold the tailfin open in the neutral position to allow solo flight. His flight wasn't as stable without a rider, his wings burned from the effort, and his whole body felt agonizingly sore, but with a fireball that forced the Skrill to jerk to the side, he managed to catch up and snag her tail again.

He knew he had the advantage as she had no lightning. There would be no mercy, no negotiating, only death.

The Skrill twisted to bite at Hiccup, but he was quick and his claws seized control of her snout. He scrabbled at her hide, ignoring the rain of blood, and started to lunge forward for a bite when he heard a pained scream. Astrid's scream!

Even as high as he was, just below the clouds, he could see Astrid on the ground. She was slumped against the trunk of a tree, her side sporting a gash with a lot of blood seeping into her tunic. Toothless was standing over her with her ax in his shaky hands as he struggled to wield the unfamiliar weapon. The male Skrill that had apparently hit Astrid was already leaping at them with claws outstretched.

They stood no chance, and Hiccup knew it without a doubt. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl as he focused his enraged attention on the scene below, but he knew he hardly had time to give his wings a single flap before it would be too late, nowhere near enough to cover an appreciable fraction of the distance. Not even a bolt of fire would have time to intervene. Before he could even touch the ground, his precious Toothless and his beloved wife would be bloody tatters.

Hiccup hated himself for allowing himself to get distracted chasing down this stupid Skrill. He hated the Skrills who had only hatred in their hearts. He hated that heat from his rage flaring inside of him, impossibly expanding and intensifying, consuming him entirely, hotter than anything he had ever experienced.

As he and Astrid made eye contact from far away, he felt the raw, unrestrained energy of his fury coursing through his body and burning him wholly from the inside out, tearing every fiber of his body apart. He twisted in the air and felt that energy crackle inside like lightning, drawing out every morsel of strength he had to feed the fire raging within.

None of that mattered, though. Nothing mattered except that he absolutely needed to instantly insert himself between that Skrill and those he loved. Nothing mattered except what would happen if he failed.

All that mattered was that he needed to be down there, in front of those who gave his life meaning.

And then, suddenly, he was.


	15. The Alphas Protect Them All

**A/N:  
**Thanks for sticking around, and thank you Deadly-Bagel for all your help in smoothing out the wrinkles.

BTW, I'm totally breaking the canon rule about dragons being unable to light their fire when their head is wet. I dunno about you, but my flint sparks in the rain. Besides, the inside of my mouth is always wet and I never have any issue lighting _my_ fire.

Dragonrider's Fury, Thank you for the kind words! You put a big smile on my face when you mentioned your sympathy for the Skrill. Skrill lives matter too!

RSegovia, thanks for dropping a line! Yep, a bit of magic. I figured I'd let Hiccup discover in the heat of the moment what the Light Fury did in Hidden World… except I didn't realize that the Light Fury went invisible as her special ability. Personally, I think a blink spell complements Toothless' build a lot better than invisibility since he already has a natural sneak buff in low-light conditions. Ya know, don't wanna min-max so much that you have no versatility, especially for a character with a lone wolf bio.

* * *

**The Alphas Protect Them All**

Astrid stared at Hiccup, mouth agape, blinking at the driving rain. She felt light-headed and unstable, as if in a dream, and it wasn't just because of the blood loss. Hiccup was in a proper fit of rage, the kind where his pupils narrowed to twitchy, demonic slits. She knew it was still Hiccup in there, that he was still at the helm… or was he really?

She shook herself back to reality.

_Focus. Objectify. Act._

One Skrill had what appeared to be a sprained wing, and Toothless had somehow drained it of all its lightning with that lightning rod gemstone stick of his, but that was lost somewhere in the ferns. The other Skrill still had some lighting left, and it was fairly uninjured, so it was the most demanding threat, but Astrid could not find an opening to strike. She danced around the trio of dragons, looking for an opportunity to help out, but the Skrills were fast and Hiccup was a blur of fury. It didn't help that the ground was muddy and, unlike the dragons, she had no claws.

Hiccup dug his claws into one Skrill and bit down on a wing – one of the few parts of the Skrill not covered in deadly spikes – breaking the main bone with a jerk of his neck. It was the one that was sprained already, but any minor victory was still a victory. He was about to lunge forward for a killing bite when he noticed the other Skrill taking off. If it was allowed to fly up to the clouds to gather more lightning, things would only get worse, but before Astrid could even begin to shift her grip to throw her ax, the dragon's tail was in Hiccup's maw. A bolt of lightning made him yelp and flop bonelessly to the ground so that the Skrill could fly up unhindered, but it was a weak strike, and he continued his motion to roll back onto all fours – and inadvertently blocking an ax throw.

Just in case he had any reservations, Astrid yelled, "Go!" and Hiccup turned and launched himself into the air. She could handle one crippled dragon so that he could take care of the other.

Said dragon, which had retreated into the forest, leaped out into the clearing and Astrid ran at it with a battle cry. She feinted left and then rolled right to clear the snap of those vicious teeth, rounding the dragon along the side of its broken wing. It spun around and swiped its good wing, forcing Astrid to jump back, and the dragon continued pressing towards her, forcing her to roll to the side and sprint a few strides to create some space.

As she continued to dance around it, she began to realize that this battle was not so cut-and-dry. This was not the first time she wished she had a more appropriate weapon, like a spear. Her trusty ax was great when she could get in close, but with spikes protruding from almost every surface, and with how quick this dragon was, it wasn't the best option. A thrown ax might take it down, or maybe not, but either outcome would rob her of her main weapon. A quick glance at Toothless, who was holding the dagger that she had handed him earlier in the fight, confirmed that he also knew to keep his distance.

A stream of white-hot fire shot past her, the only available contribution from Stormfly until her wings and legs stopped spasming from the lightning strike she'd taken earlier. The fire glanced off the Skrill's flank and caused it to shriek in pain, but it wasn't anything debilitating.

An explosion cracked the sky above with a flash of purple light, and Astrid looked up to see Hiccup way up there, attacking the other Skrill. It was hard to tell, but assuming Hiccup was the speck that overtook the other one, it looked like he was doing just fine considering he was weary before he even took flight.

"RAAA!"

Toothless' battle cry snapped Astrid's attention back to the ground where he was running in from the side toward the Skrill, who was running at her. In that instant, as Astrid jumped aside from a snapping maw, she realized that her lapse in concentration would cost her dearly. A claw from the Skrill's wing punched into her thigh and sent her spinning midair, and the blow made her scream in pain, but that was quickly cut off when a tail slammed into her stomach to send her flying across the ground. She braced for impact and tumbled until she slammed into the base of a tree.

Pain shot up and down her back, almost intense enough to cover up the searing gash in her hip. She forced herself to her hands and knees, and it wasn't until then that she realized she must have dropped her ax. Toothless stood in front of her with her ax in his hands, facing the Skrill that was sprinting at them.

The sky lit up white and Astrid looked up, but her heart sank. Lightning could mean only one thing. The Skrill had managed to reach the storm clouds and refill. Even if the strike didn't kill Hiccup, it would have stunned him, and that would still be deadly so high up.

But it was worse than that. It wasn't just one flash of lightning, but a sustained crackling in the clouds, and though Astrid could not see any detail from so far away, she knew who was at the center of it all. The entire sky lit up and pulsated bright white as lightning danced all around Hiccup, all of it being absorbed by him. The Skrill was literally cooking him alive!

Whatever fighting spirit that had remained in Astrid suddenly whiffed away.

"Hiccup!" she cried out in despair. It was all over. He was dead. There was no question about it. Just like that, taken away. "HICCUP!"

There was no more will to survive, not that there was any hope of surviving this. She could only stare in shock, expecting that, before the Skrill on the ground would maul and eviscerate her, she would have a moment to see Hiccup's lifeless body tumbling in the winds, dragging a trail of smoke, plummeting to–

A deafening crack of thunder rattled her. Purple fire and smoke flashed in front of her. It took her a moment to realize that the Skrill that was about to eviscerate her and Toothless had been slammed to the side mid-leap. It took her another moment to realize that the intercepting projectile that had just saved her life was a black dragon, and that it was Hiccup, and that he was not dead.

Indeed, he was as alive as ever, thrashing and biting at the Skrill before they even slammed into the ground. An ethereal blue glow seeped out from between his scales and along the spines on his back, just like a year ago when Toothless occupied that body and literally blasted Drago's Bewilderbeast into submission.

"How…" was all she could say. She saw the lightning up in the clouds. She heard the thunder. Even if Hiccup had somehow survived that, there was no way he cleared that distance in an instant of time.

"Yes!" Toothless shouted exuberantly. "I not know how, but bite him! Tear him up! Ha!"

The fight was not as one-sided as it was before, though. Hiccup was faltering, his strength was failing, and Astrid had no doubt that he was overheated – a common problem with creatures that could not sweat.

It didn't matter. Astrid saw her opportunity, and she was a woman of action. She yelled through the pain as she stood and grabbed the ax from Toothless' hands. Hiccup had his teeth on the Skrill's good wing, trying to stay along its backside, and the Skrill was thrashing around, trying to get at Hiccup.

"Hold!" Astrid commanded as she stepped forward and threw her ax. It sailed through the air and sank into the Skrill's neck. The dragon gurgled as it flopped and thrashed around, and Hiccup gladly let it go to flop on the ground.

She turned to face the other Skrill, which was just arriving to join the fight. It slammed into the ground with an enraged screech and a crackle of lightning, feeling out the situation, not entirely sure if it should rush them or wait.

Astrid's heart plummeted. Even three against one, there was no chance of them beating this Skrill as it showed no signs of weariness, and if that wasn't bad enough, Toothless was nowhere to be seen. Astrid knew that she would go down fighting, but unless her ax suddenly flew into her hands, Stormfly stopped spasming, _and_ Hiccup's vitality was instantly rejuvenated, their fate was sealed.

"Uhhh," she said uncertainly. She met Hiccup's eyes, and the sight was not promising. He was clearly fighting just to stay awake. Astrid wanted to say something encouraging about how they had this in the bag, or that they would be fine, but she never was one for platitudes and empty affirmations. All she could do was force a smile and say, "I love you, Babe."

Hiccup warbled as he stood a little straighter, his legs shaking.

Astrid idly flipped her bush knife in her hand as she stared down the Skrill. "You don't scare me." That was a lie. "I will kill you, Skrill. I'll cut your throat open and–"

"No you not!" came the voice of Toothless. He strode towards the Skrill with his dagger held out in one hand, shouting with absolute confidence, "You hate black dragon, huh? You want kill black dragon? Kill Night Fury?" He stopped and squared off. "I _am_ Night Fury! I am black dragon!"

Astrid and Hiccup groaned in unison.

The Skrill prowled around them, but Toothless faced it down with a look of confidence and boredom. "I am Night Fury," he said again. "I am your enemy." He flicked a glance at Hiccup. "Tell her, Firefly. Show her."

Hiccup whined.

"SHOW HER!" Toothless roared.

Astrid finally found her tongue. "Wha– what in Thor's name do you think–"

He cut her off with a stern look and a hand held up, which she noticed held the strange gemstone that had started all this trouble.

The Skrill clawed at the ground and screeched at Toothless. Apparently, Hiccup had complied. The cat was out of the bag. Between dragons, it would have taken hardly the blink of an eye to share every detail of the soul swap, and dragons were incapable of lying. Dragons saw the mind more than the body, so when the Skrill turned its full attention on Toothless, Astrid wasn't surprised in the least bit. Instead, she was simply terrified.

Toothless flicked a glance back at Astrid and said, "Hide, trust." Turning to the Skrill, he shouted, "Yes, I am black dragon! And I! Will! Kill! You!"

In the same moment that Toothless started charging forward with his dagger held out, the Skrill ran at him with an angry hiss. Astrid cringed at the macabre sight she knew she was about to witness–

At the last moment, Toothless dropped his dagger and slid down on his knees as he kicked off to the side. Astrid barely caught sight of something sailing into the Skrill's open maw. Toothless barely ducked away from a snap of the teeth and under a swipe of a wing as he tumbled away and scrambled up to his feet.

Hiccup ran up, panting deeply, and Toothless frantically jumped into the saddle. "Fly, Firefly! Fly!"

Hiccup cast a quick glance at Astrid to make sure that she was alright, but there was no need to worry. The Skrill completely ignored her in its blind haste to rush at the mind of a Night Fury riding the body of one. Hiccup was already taking off, yowling through the cramps as he hastily fled upward. Astrid managed to throw her knife and stick it in below the Skrill's wing, but the dragon ignored it entirely.

Astrid had no clue what was going through that rider's mind, or how making his exhausted Night Fury fly could have possibly been a good idea, but it was out of her hands now, so she turned her attention to the other Skrill sprawled out nearby. It was wheezing and gurgling, still alive, but soon to be dead, not a threat at all.

Its eyes met hers, and they stared at each other for a while.

"You have my ax," she said coldly.

Stomfly's cawing caught her attention and she turned to see her dragon unsteadily trying to get her talons under her. Astrid picked up and sheathed the dagger that Toothless had dropped and turned to limp toward her dragon, thankful that her injuries hadn't become stiff and tender yet.

Over her shoulder, she said, "Keep it. You've earned it."

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Hiccup forced himself to take deep breaths instead of shallow panting as he powered up through the pelting rain. He had been entirely drained of any strength, but seeing his rider almost die had given him a little kick, as did the pain from a twisted sensor lobe. Toothless was not cruel, but he knew what would work.

_{What were you thinking, Toothless, when you threw that gemstone into the Skrill's mouth? Were you hoping she would choke on it?}_

Toothless responded with a cheerful voice, "Hope? Yes. Believe? No."

Hiccup heard the crackling of lightning from behind as the female Skrill absorbed it all to prepare a blast. Without their gemstone lightning rod, though, they were doomed. Hiccup sighed. At least they distracted the Skrill for a little bit. Maybe, Stormfly had already shaken off the effects of the lightning bolt and was flying Astrid to safety.

A frustrated hiss sounded out behind him when no lightning bolt reached out to smite them. Hiccup could sense the Skrill's frustration that her enemies were not dead. Apparently, she was having trouble shooting them with her lightning.

"Ha!" Toothless cheered.

Hiccup was encouraged when he looked back at his rider's wolfish grin. _{You were expecting this? How are we not dead?}_

"I not tell you. Skrill will hear." He turned back to the Skrill in hot pursuit and shouted, "Hey, Skrill, I kill you!

Again, lighting crackled around the Skrill that was now flying close to their side, but there was no lighting bolt of death.

_{Are you sure that it's a good idea to make her even _angrier_?}_

The Skrill swooped at them as sparks lanced all across her body. Hiccup frantically summoned the strength to twist around so that Toothless was out of harm's way, and the Skrill managed to rake his flank. He welcomed the pain, though, as it gave him a little more strength.

However, there was still no lightning.

"Ha! You a worm!" Toothless roared at the Skrill.

_{I'm so confused! I saw her swallow the gemstone, but how is that saving us?}_

The Skrill rushed him again, but Hiccup managed to present a toothy maw and his claws, forcing her to veer around.

"Not now!" he hissed. "I smash your eggs and eat them!" he shouted to the Skrill.

The Skrill shot forward and they clawed at each other's bellies for a moment. Lightning crackled along her scales, but, again, there was no bolt of death.

As they separated, Toothless leaned down low over his dragon's head. "Tell her of time you kill that one Skrill." Hiccup whined. "Do it! Trust me, Firefly, as I did always trust you!"

Hiccup complied and projected a burst, a memory of a time four years ago when a Skrill attacked him and Toothless. Toothless, then a dragon as usual, was struck by lightning and unable to even crawl, and the Skrill grabbed Hiccup in her maw. She knew that he was precious to Toothless and so planned to keep him alive, play with him and torture him to torture the Night Fury, but she never anticipated a knife through the roof of her mouth and right into her brain. It broke Hiccup a little on the inside to do it, but the thought of the trauma Toothless would have endured, let alone the realization that she would have killed him too, forced his hand.

A screech sounded out their adversary's murderous intent, and the entire sky lit up with a nonstop crackling of uncountable arcs of lightning, all converging on the Skrill. She flew above them and swooped in, heedless of any retaliatory threat.

And then, she was entirely silent. The world seemed to become instantly still and quiet, even though the wind still howled and the rain still pelted his scales. The passive mental hum of all living creatures was something Hiccup had become accustomed to, always there and providing information but not claiming his concentration, like how various sounds of a grinding wheel would sing a hundred details about the blade he was sharpening. The hum of the female Skrill was whisked away and silenced, and it was with a stab of regret that Hiccup sensed her mind instantly dissolve into nothing.

A limp and lifeless body brushed against him as it began to plummet.

_{You killed her!}_ He did not restrain his disappointment.

"I did say I would!" Toothless howled. When he saw his dragon's sad eyes looking back at him, he shrunk in on himself. Suddenly, he sat up and pointed down. "Catch it!" he shouted. "Make sure it land on island! We need get stone out of belly."

Hiccup forced himself to comply, shaking away the feeling of loss. He would have certain words with Toothless… later, when he could follow the appropriate protocol of heavy dragon rump on rider.

"I know how feel," Toothless said as they plummeted downwards. "It affect me first time, but I get used to it."

Hiccup keened. This was not his way to solve problems. It went against everything he stood for, starting with the time he released the greatest enemy to his people.

"You do good, Firefly. Act now, think later."

They caught up to and bumped into the plummeting Skrill, and Hiccup distractedly clawed at the body to grab onto it and steer its descent towards the island. He aimed for the clearing near where Astrid was standing by Stormfly.

_{I don't like this at all.}_

"Eyes on prey."

_{My prey is in my paws, and I hate myself for that!}_

He looked back at Toothless, who licked his lips. "I sorry, Firefly. We talk later? Just land now."

Hiccup gladly relinquished his burden and channeled all his effort into avoiding slamming into the ground. He spread his wings wide and managed to hold them steady long enough to brake against the wind in a circle around the field before flopping to the ground and sliding to a stop on the slick grass.

Astrid was on one knee, leaning against the leg of Stormfly, who was now standing. She was a muddy and bloody mess, but she found the energy to let out a cheer and pump her fist in victory. Toothless was whooping with joy. Hiccup, though, forced his eyes to remain open as he looked at the dead female Skrill, crumpled from the impact, then at the almost dead male. While he could not see any other course, he did not like his destination. However, with a mind adept at logic and memory but void of imagination, he was helpless to have plotted an alternate course.

The male Skrill, though still alive, wasn't making any attempts to project anything. His passive hum was only melancholy loss.

Hiccup sluggishly turned his head to face the Skrill, his chest heaving through deep breaths. _{I did not want any harm to come to you or your mate, Skrill. I wish I could show Skrills and Night Furies that you only hurt yourself by hunting down the other.}_

He wasn't expecting a reply, so he yelped in surprise when he got one. _{Your land-strider thinking is foolish. We hunt black dragons because they hunt us. They are the cause of the problem.}_

Hiccup shook his head, but he regretted doing so as it sent the world spinning. _{It does not matter how a problem is created, only how it is resolved. The damage has been done and both types of dragons are nearly extinct.}_

_{Then the problem is nearly resolved.}_

Hiccup whined at that. Toothless gave a pat on his neck. "Not your fault, Firefly. You do good. Not blame yourself when you not know how do better. Rest now."

The pull of sleep was irresistible, and with the only potential threat currently choking on his own blood, he knew that he could finally give in to it.

He took a moment to press his snout into Toothless' hand. _{Please, at least put that male Skrill out of his misery. We have caused enough suffering already.}_

Toothless turned to give him a surprised look, not that he knew as he was already asleep.

########

* * *

########

Toothless felt... He didn't know _how_ he felt.

Before this day, he had thought that the world was rid of the abominable Skrill. When he discovered the pair in this storm, he thought that there was a certain justice to the last known Night Fury taking out the last known Skrills. Both species of dragons were doomed to extinction eventually, he realized this now, but he would end them before they could end him.

Even if he did it in a land-strider's body, and it was only now that he realized that this was why he felt…

He _still_ didn't know how he felt.

He looked down at his hands, the same hands that had reached up to pluck a Night Fury from the sky and then reached down to put him back up there again. These same hands, guided by his land-strider imagination, had stolen the lightning from one Skrill and then killed the other by turning her own lightning against herself.

When he had formed his hasty plan to make her so enraged that she would unthinkingly swallow the gemstone he tossed into her mouth, he had a suspicion that it would still absorb her lightning. He had no clue how long that would last, or what would happen if it stopped, so he figured that if he kept her angry and continually zapping the stone… _something_ would happen. It was very fortunate that this _something_ involved cooking her from the inside out with her own lightning.

Astrid crouched down next to Firefly, who was fast asleep, sprawled out on his side on the rain-sodden grass, then briefly glanced up at Toothless. "Judging by the fact that you're not freaking out, I guess he's alright?"

Toothless nodded. Firefly could rest for now, but food was what he really needed. He would get that soon enough.

Astrid then stood and flung her arms around Toothless, squeezing him in a hug, but then she winced at the pain. "Ugh, I think I broke a rib, thank the gods it's not stiff and sore yet." She held his shoulders at arms-length. "But I can't believe it! I thought we were all toast, but you did it!" She paused in thought for a moment. "What _did_ you do up there?"

"Gemstone," Toothless said with a smile. "Lightning hate it more than iron. Make Skrill angry, make her swallow it. Lightning hit it, so it stay in her. Then, I guess it not take any more, so lightning burn her from inside. Not think of that if I dragon."

Stormfly shakily walked over to them, hissing at her frustration of having been taken out of the fight so early on and chittering her praise for Toothless and his Firefly.

A question suddenly came to Toothless. "Why you here? How you know we need help? It long flight to here, so how you know yesterday?"

Astrid smiled as she knelt by Firefly's head and gently stroked his snout. "I couldn't get to sleep last night, and I just felt… I felt… I _needed_ to be somewhere, to do something. Suiting up and grabbing my ax made me feel better." She kissed Firefly's snout. "Call it a gut feeling. The thought of flying off to find you two just–"

"Just felt right," Toothless said through a chuckle. "You know how much I hear Firefly say that? I feel like I shed all my scales each time." He looked over at the male Skrill, which still wasn't dead yet, and started to walk towards it. "We kill him now."

"Leave it," Astrid said dismissively with a wave of her hand. "It'll be dead soon. Why take any risk to end its suffering?" She noticed Toothless looking at his Firefly and scowled. "Of _course_, Hiccup, right. He's out cold, though, so it doesn't matter."

Toothless paused to stare at her for a moment before continuing. "He want it. I want it."

"You're hopeless, both of you," she said, but she limped on to catch up, pressing the handle of a dagger into his hand. "I suppose it's only right that you claim the kill anyway, you offspring of lightning and death. Those who I care about are safe, now, that is all that matters to me."

Toothless smiled at her. "Same."

The Skrill was laid out on his side. His torso barely swelled at all with each shallow, gurgling breath. He was feebly stretching out towards the dead female on the other side of the clearing, but then his eyes landed on the approaching figures and his body went completely limp. He knew he was about to die, and he accepted it. That, at least, Toothless could respect.

Everything else, though...

"If you let us go, your mate would be alive now," Toothless said coldly. "You did this to yourself."

With that, he braced his hand holding the dagger against his hip and thrust it into the back of the dragon's neck, between where he could see two vertebrae were joined. The blade skipped to the side, but he bent down and jerked it up with all his strength, and it bit into the soft spot between the vertebrae. He hauled up on the handle again, driving it in deeper, and one more heave drove the blade all the way through.

The deed was done, and the Skrill was dead.

As he wearily turned to walk away, Astrid limped along with him, and Stormfly offered a snout as support for both of them.

"Considering the history between Night Furies and Skrills," Astrid said over the snout, "I bet you found that to be quite satisfying."

Toothless stole a glance at his unconscious Firefly. Firefly always saw death as nothing other than a mistake that could never be fixed, a lazy solution for the incompetent. Somehow, time after time, when he could do things his way, he would make his enemies love him as loyal allies, starting with the dragon he shot down but could not bring himself to finish off. Were he in his land-strider body, with his land-strider imagination, he would have found a way to make the Skrills love him so he wouldn't have to kill them, somehow. It was the Firefly way to do things, and though Toothless could not see any acceptable alternative, he realized that he had taken this possibility away.

He _still_ didn't know how he felt.

"No, actually, I not."


	16. Pulling Together

**A/N:  
**Thanks for hanging in there with me. I'm back on track again. Also, thank you Deadly-Bagel for betaing.

Dragonrider's Fury, yeah, I ignored the rest of the gang to keep the focus on the fight. I'm sure they'll have some sort of alibi for snoozing on the job. Lazy bums.

* * *

**Pulling Together**

Toothless looked at the bleeding puncture wound on Astrid's hip… and the gash along her flank… and the one on her shoulder… and the one on her arm. She definitely looked like someone who had just come out of an intense and invigorating tussle.

Firefly had some wounds too, not that he could do anything about them as he was unconscious. There were bite marks on his neck and haunches, and some scratches and shallow tears along his belly and flank. Stormfly, whose snout Astrid had smacked away from licking her, was giving her tongue to Firefly's injuries. She didn't seem concerned, though, and Toothless knew that she would make known any problem her licking couldn't handle. Unlike land-striders, dragons didn't bleed much before a scab would form.

"What injuries do you have?" Astrid asked.

Toothless thought about that for a moment. "My knee hurt a little. And I bit my lip. And I have hurt here." He held up his thumb to show her where his dagger had nicked it. For such a little cut, it sure hurt a lot!

Astrid stared, mouth agape. "Really!? Here I am bleeding out, and you got off without a scratch?! And all that time I thought you were in the fight with me."

"I did get scratch!" Toothless insisted, holding up his thumb again. Astrid rolled her eyes. "And I did fight with you. I use lightning rod on male Skrill. It then lost in ferns, so I find it. Gemstone not with rod, so I find it. Use it to kill female–"

"Ugh!"

"You good fighter, but I fight smarter, not–"

Astrid stopped him with a glare. "You _really_ don't want to finish that sentence." Toothless grinned. "Next time you get attacked by a couple of Skrills, I'm leaving you to fend for yourself," she grumbled.

Toothless frowned. "If you not help, we be dead now. No doubt." He smiled at her. "Love Astrid." He shifted his gaze to the Nadder. "Love Stormfly."

During all this, Astrid was grunting and hissing as she worked her way out of her coat. She grabbed a knife and made a little cut about a hand-width above the bottom of her tunic and started tearing off a strip. Toothless had learned a lot about the dead coverings that land-striders would wrap themselves in, some made from animal hides and other from some sort of plant fiber, and he would sometimes find himself staring in fascination at how land-striders would make, use, and destroy their dead coverings for various purposes. He knew what she was doing, though, as he had seen other land-striders do something similar when they were bleeding a bit too freely.

"I think I'll need your help," she said as she worked. Stormfly hopped over and started licking at a gash on her arm, causing Astrid to hiss in pain and Stormfly to squawk in alarm. "Really, girl, this'll require more than a lick." She turned to Toothless as she pulled a strip of cloth from the bottom of her tunic. "Take off your flight suit. We'll need to use _your_ tunic as well."

Toothless complied, and Astrid made some little cuts in his tunic and started to tear a strip off. "There, that should let you tear off three strips, just like me."

Astrid went back to tearing the last strip from her tunic, and Toothless groaned at the sight of it. It was happening again. Land-striders, he had learned, didn't have a mating season. Well, to be more accurate, _every_ season was mating season. Males were always in a rut.

Toothless knew to control himself, though, for Firefly's sake. Firefly was not in his body, and Toothless wasn't supposed to mate with Astrid since she wasn't his mate… Land-striders had always been complicated creatures. Regardless, the unwilling reaction of his body to seeing Astrid's exposed belly sure made him realize that his leather pants were… not very accommodating.

He had experienced such feelings on a few occasions while occupying Firefly's body. Astrid had slapped him whenever his mind melted and he inadvertently stared at another female, and then she slapped him again when he and Stormfly were brainstorming which characteristics of a land-strider female could cause such a reaction in males.

"Go find a straight stick, about as wide as your finger and twice as long," Astrid said, and Toothless walked off to comply… except he couldn't really walk normally, so he hobbled. "Did your leg get hit?" she asked, concerned.

"No."

Astrid snorted as realization dawned on her. "Really?!" She chuckled.

Toothless shrugged. "Blame this body, not me. At least I not stare at Hilda again."

Astrid sent him scurrying along with a murderous glare. Stormfly, who had finished licking at Firefly's injuries and had just offered a wing as shelter from the rain, added her own hissing to support her rider.

He found a stick about the right width and twice as long as needed, and broke it in half. Fortunately, he found that the discomfort had lessened and he was able to stand straight again… until he returned to see Astrid with almost all of her skin exposed to the elements. It made sense to expose the wounds so that they could be tended to, but the feeling of rutting returned with a vengeance.

She chuckled despite the situation. "I guess it really _is_ a matter of body rather than mind. You never stared at me like that when you were a dragon."

"I not try be in rut," Toothless mumbled.

Though he would sooner die than tell her, her condition reminded him of a time when Hookfang had proudly shared some imagery of a female he had mated with a few years ago. With dragons, it was a simple matter of selecting a mate, fighting off any competing males, and taking her. Impressing her sometimes helped. Both dragons had been very… enthusiastic… in demonstrating to each other how dangerous they could be, and Hookfang was quite proud of the marks he'd given and received.

"Considering who you really are," Astrid said thoughtfully, "a stalker and a brawler by nature, I should have guessed a little blood would be a turn-on for you. Aww, you're blushing, how cute."

Toothless turned aside and held out the two sticks in his hand, and Astrid snatched one of them. She had a length of rope tied around her leg, just above the large puncture wound in her thigh. Toothless was about to ask how the stick was supposed to help, but she answered that question by sticking it through the loop of rope, twisting the stick until it cinched the loop so tight that it dug into her skin.

"Tourniquet," she explained as she tucked one end of the stick under the loop. "Slow the blood flow to the leg to slow the bleeding."

"Hrrr… smart." Suddenly, a thought came to mind, lethargically and slowly. There was only one other time he had seen this tourniquet thing on someone's leg, and that someone was Firefly, and it was very soon after they had killed the demonic queen – or Red Death as the land-striders called her.

"Sorry for loss," Toothless mumbled. He brightened and said, "Not worry, Firefly make leg for you." He looked at his dragon. "Hrrr, I make new leg for you. Firefly show me how."

Astrid stared at him, confused. "What?"

Toothless pointed to the tourniquet. "I see that before, on Firefly. It mean leg get cut off. Sad loss, but," he tapped his prosthetic foot against the ground, "we here for you."

Astrid stared at him blankly for a moment, then understanding lit up her face and she broke out into laughter. "Stop making me laugh, Toothless. I'm not cutting off my leg."

"But… But…" he pointed at the tourniquet, and then his prosthetic foot. "Not matter. Land-striders strange. You strange."

As the laughing subsided, she handed a length of rope to Toothless. "Tie that around my arm, up here by the armpit."

Toothless complied, and he bit his lips as he resisted the temptation his hands suddenly felt to… wander… towards other exposed flesh.

_Stupid land-strider rut._

"I should also inform you that I'm holding a knife," she said.

Toothless grinned at that. Death threats were the language he understood best. "I be good."

She did the same sort of stick rope loop twisting thing. "Good, now take this," she said as she handed a cloth strip to Toothless, then pressed a folded patch against the gash in her shoulder on her other side. "Now tie that around here. As tight as you can. Tighter. C'mon, put your back into it. Good, I'll hold that hitch tight while you make the second loop, there, good."

She took a step back to lean against Firefly's side, but ended up slumping down to the ground. Toothless didn't like the way her eyes lost focus for a moment.

"You good?" he asked.

Astrid took a few deep breaths. "I… I've seen worse." Her speech was slurring a little, and Toothless was starting to feel truly worried about her. It suddenly dawned on him that this might not be all fun and games. "Here, take this." She placed a folded cloth strip against the puncture on her thigh and placed Toothless' hand over it. "Press here as hard as you can, and hold it."

Toothless complied as he worked his way into a more comfortable kneeling position.

"You'll have to use _both_ hands," she said

She placed his other hand on the inside of her thigh, causing him to bend over a little more as his rutting sensation intensified.

"I… I…" Astrid started to say. "Feel light… headed. Squeeze… harder."

Toothless complied, but he whined at how Astrid's breath was fluttering a bit more now. Land-striders were small creatures compared to a Night Fury, and he realized that it was entirely possible that she could die from blood loss.

Suddenly, he noticed light filtering in through Stormfly's wing. The dragon uncurled it a little to allow a shaft of blinding sunlight to fall on them.

"Storm fade," Toothless said with a smile. His smile quickly vanished when he noticed that Astrid wasn't entirely there.

"If I… fall asleep… keep… squeezing," she said.

"I will." His arms were shaking already. "I not let you down."

"Good." Astrid took a few forced deep breaths. "And if you… touch me in an… inappropriate way… Storm will bite… off your… you know what."

Toothless looked up at Stormfly, who was standing over them and protecting them from the rain. "Stormfly, you not really would bite–"

SNAP!

After a moment, he dared to push his head out from between his shoulders to glare at Stormfly, then at Astrid who was weakly chuckling.

"Tooth–" her breath shuddered. "Thanks."

########

* * *

########

Ruffnut groaned. "This trip is so lame, isn't it, Barf?" Her Zippleback head grumbled in agreement

"I know," Tuffnut whined. "The storm spiced things up a little bit, but it's more annoying than exciting. Belch says he's ready to die from either exhaustion or boredom right now."

"No dragon trappers to contend with."

"Or hostile dragons."

"Oh, what if the _others_ were attacked by dragons and _we_ had to save them?"

"Ohhhh." Tuffnut rubbed his hands together. "That could be fun. But what sorta dragons would we have to defeat?"

"Skrill, I suppose, judging by the lightning we saw way yonder."

"Yeah, then we swoop in on Barf and Belch, laying down a cloud of gas, and blow it up."

"Or," Ruffnut mused, "what if it was _two_ Skrill? Ya know, like a mated pair."

"Will you two shut up?!" Snotlout shouted over the whipping wind and driving rain. "And tell BB to stop slamming into Hookfang."

"Hey, BB is a majestic creature!" Tuffnut snapped as said dragon flipped upside-down in the gusting winds for the thousandth time.

"Yeah, _Hookfang_ is flying into _them_," Ruffnut added. A sudden updraft caused the Monstrous Nightmare to slam into them from the below. "See?!"

"Ugh!" Snotlout groaned. "And we _still_ don't know where we are. Are you sure our dragons aren't keeping us lost on purpose?"

Tuffnut scoffed. "BB couldn't sniff their way out of a room if there was a pile of fermented fish at the door, and they'd be the first to admit it."

"What about you, Hookey?" Snotlout demanded of his dragon. "If you can sniff out a strip of dried fish I left in a satchel, you can sniff out the others, right?"

"Hookfang says that it's not helping that the wind is shifting as quickly as he can blink."

Snotlout sighed. "Well, then, stop blinking, Hookfang. Duh!"

Said dragon looked back to give him a flat stare – until he slammed into the others.

Lightning flashed in the distance, and Ruffnut thought she heard thunder over the howling winds. Finally. Every time there was a period of no lightning, they would inevitably lose their orientation at the next gust of merciless wind. Hopefully, they could get closer before it stopped again. "Look, there's the lightning again!" she cheered. "Let's go that way."

"We _have_ been going that way, and we're no closer," Snotlout shouted back. "And someone tell me again why we're flying _towards_ the lightning?"

"Got any better ideas?" Tuffnut shot back. Snotlout groaned. "That's what I thought."

"I really don't see why this is so hard," Snotlout groused.

"Simple physics, my dear Snot," Tuffnut shouted over the howling wind. "Imagine you're on top of a barrel, trying to roll it across the ground. Simple, right? But forces beyond your control are spinning you around… and it keeps sliding across the ground at random… and you're so tired you're gonna fall into the ocean and drown if you don't find land soon… and the hills turn into trees and rocks turn into streams and so on."

The heads of Barf and Belch stared at him. "Yeah, I dunno, it made more sense before I said it," Tuffnut admitted.

"Like everything else you've ever–" Ruffnut started to say until she saw another bright pulse of light through the clouds. "Hey, look, more lightning!"

After what felt like another eternity of flying, with the occasional lightning bolt guiding the way, they felt like they made some progress. There was one long, sustained flickering of lightning, then nothing for a long time. The wind settled down to something that didn't tumble the dragons constantly, but there was nothing in sight beneath the clouds.

"Well, it has been an honor," Tuffnut said. "We are nearing the end of the rope, whereupon we shall fall and sleep with the fishes, and eventually be consumed by them. Yes, my dear Belch, ironic indeed. Hookfang, my only regret is that you can't set your rider's arse on fire one last time."

"Awww," Ruffnut whined, "I was hoping I would die while fighting an evil dragon with my bare fists to protect my stuffed yak."

"You mean _our_ stuffed yak!" Tuffnut shot back.

Ruffnut pointed a finger at him. "We've been down this road already, and don't you dare even _think_ of dying to protect _my_ yak!"

"I'll die protecting what I want!"

"I was thinking not dying today would be fantastic," Snotlout said. He suddenly straightened in his saddle and pointed ahead. "Look, Hookfang sees land!"

Tuffnut squinted. "How can you tell– Oh, nevermind, BB says that Hookfang says that he sees land."

Snotlout rolled his eyes. "I don't gotta be a dragon whisperer when Hookey is an open book. With the way he's suddenly very excited about flying in that direction and dropping lower, he's either seen land to rest on or a potential mate." Said dragon looked back at his rider and snapped his teeth. "Bah, don't beat yourself up. She wasn't exactly your type anyway."

The storm clouds started to dissolve, and shafts of sunlight stabbed through to the ocean below. The speck of an island came into view, and as they drew closer, Ruffnut could see a tall, narrow mountain with a flat side as if sheared in half by the gods themselves. This was definitely the island on which they had awoken this morning, and judging by the position of the sun that was starting to peek through the clouds, it wasn't even noon yet.

"Hey, BB says that Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid, and Stormfly are down there," Tuffnut announced. "Stormfly is filling them in on everything." Shortly after, they descended into a clearing to see with their own eyes – on calmer winds, thank the gods.

"What's Astrid doing here?" Ruffnut asked. She then noticed what appeared to be a Skrill lying on its side. "And is that a Skrill? And is _that_ an ax in its neck? Cool! And is _that_ another Skrill?!"

"Yeah," Tuffnut said. "Stormfly is giving us the scoop. Hey, did you know that Hiccup managed to move through the air?"

Snotlout gave him a flat stare as their dragons touched down on the ground to immediately collapse in exhaustion. "He's a dragon. This surprises nobody."

"No, like, he was in a spot, and then he was instantly somewhere else… like he transitioned himself into a new location–"

"Translocated!" Ruffnut shouted before Tuffnut could claim credit for inventing the word.

"Hmm, not bad," Tuffnut admitted. "But it was instant. The translocation happened in the blink of an eye."

"So, what you're saying," Snotlout slowly said, deep in thought, "is that Hiccup blinked… and then he was somewhere else? Huh. Hey, Hookey, can you do that? Can you blink across the island?"

Said dragon deigned to give his rider a lidded stare before closing his eyes again to sleep. "Lazy bum." A narrow gout of fire leaped at his rear, causing him to scream and run around in a panic before finally rolling around on the ground to extinguish the flames. "Okay, fine! Just go to sleep already!"

"What's this about Hiccup discovering some new ability?" an eager voice said from behind.

Ruffnut jumped in alarm to see Fishlegs standing behind her, eyes practically popping out of his head, open notebook and charcoal pencil in hand. "Don't sneak up on me like that!" she hissed. "And it's about time you showed up. How did you find us?"

"Simple," Fishlegs said as he leaned against his slumbering dragon with a smile. "When we all got separated, Meatlug and I had no clue where to go. However, I knew that it was important to group up again, and then I saw the lightning, and I knew that you twins and Snotlout are naturally attracted to danger and shiny things, so Meatlug and I decided to fly towards it to find you."

"Oh, well, I guess that makes sense," Tuffnut drawled out.

"But Meatlug filled me in about this whole blinking across the island thing, and it completely ruins my whole dragon rating system," Fishlegs whined. "I already had a Night Fury's speed marked as twenty, but if he can move some distance in literally no time at all–"

"You mean zero seconds?" Ruffnut suggested.

Fishlegs blushed. "Alright, fine, let's assume we can say 'zero' represents the nothingness that no actual number can represent, but then his speed would be… uhhh… higher than twenty… higher than a hundred… higher than a thousand…" He threw his hands up and shouted, "There literally is no number in existence for how fast he flew! It would be the logical opposite of zero! What have you done, Hiccup?! You ruined math! You just forced us to come up with abstractions for concepts that cannot be represented by numbers! DO YOU REALIZE WHAT SORT OF COMPLICATIONS YOU JUST CREATED?!"

He stood there, panting, arms raised in outrage, and suddenly seemed to deflate as he realized the tantrum he was throwing. "I need to think on this," he said meekly.

"Congratulations, Hiccup, you have officially broken Fishlegs," Snotlout said out of the side of his mouth. Said dragon made no response, though, as he was out cold.

"We really should check on Astrid, though," Tuffnut said. "BB says that Stormfly says that she's pretty torn up." He rubbed his hands together. "Oh, and she's not wearing anything. Hey, Stormfly, can you share with me what your eyes are seeing– HRK!"

He suddenly found himself doubled-over with Ruffnut standing over him. "Admit it, bro, you were literally _asking_ for that." A groan was his only response. She looked over at Stormfly, whose wing was forming a tent over Astrid… and...

"Wait a moment, is Toothless in there with her?"

"Yes," came the muffled reply from Toothless.

A feral smirk crawled over Ruffnut's face. "And what, pray tell, are you doing all alone with a naked Astrid?"

"Not what you think!" came the vehement response. After a pause, he said, "Much blood coming out of Astrid."

"Well, that doesn't make sense. She's been around the block, if you know what I mean."

"Not what I mean!" Toothless said in annoyance. "I hold cloth thing, press into hurt, stop blood coming out. She still breathing, but sleeping. I worry. She did bleed a lot."

"I did some work with Gothi and picked up a few things," Ruffnut said as she rummaged through her saddlebag for her medical satchel. As much as she still believed that nothing was actually fun unless it produced a scar, she also respected the need to ensure that one survives long enough to appreciate said scar.

As she approached, Stormfly whined and pulled her wing in tighter around its occupants.

Ruffnut glared at her. "C'mon, girl, I've bathed with Astrid before. Nothing I haven't seen." The wing slackened, and Ruffnut was able to worm her way inside to take in the situation. "Storm, can I get some light?" The wing shifted to allow a small view of the bright sky above that was becoming less and less cloudy.

Astrid was laid out on the ground, asleep, with one leg lifted to rest in Toothless' lap. Toothless was pressing a crimson-soaked rag against a nasty-looking wound in her thigh. The poor thing was trying his best, but his arms were shaking from exhaustion.

Despite the situation, Ruffnut couldn't help but smirk. "Ya know, Tooth, if you take off your pants, you're in the perfect position to–"

"Not funny!" Toothless snapped.

"Okay, fine, mister all work no play," she chided as she looked Astrid over. "Hmm, tourniquets look good. They can be loosened in a while. This laceration on her shoulder has stopped bleeding, as has that one, and that one, and…" she grabbed Toothless' trembling wrist to lift his hand away from the outside of Astrid's thigh. It looked like something had punctured her there, and the wound wasn't small. "Bleeding has stopped here, too, so you can stop torturing your arms, now."

"How is she?" came Fishlegs' worried voice from outside.

"She hasn't died yet, and the bleeding has stopped, so she'll be fine," Ruffnut said. "Definitely some awesome scars. Good thing I always carry sutures in my saddlebag. How are you holding up, Toothless?"

"Sore. Knees sore. Legs sore. Back sore. All of me sore."

Ruffnut waved it off dismissively. "Bah, builds character. You can rest in a bit, but I'll show you how you can help me stitch her up."

"Like when I stitch leather?" Toothless asked, intrigued.

"Ya," Ruffnut chuckled, "but this leather bleeds if you do it wrong."

########

* * *

########

Hiccup woke up with the world's worst hangover. At least, that was how it felt.

While he no longer felt the irresistible pull of sleep, he still felt dead on the inside, as if standing would have been a difficult task if it was even possible at all. However, as he blearily blinked the sleep from his eyes and looked around, he felt relief wash over him and a purr rumble through him. The sun was shining, about midday. Meatlug snoozed away, her body acting as a backrest for Fishlegs and Toothless as they sat by a campfire. They appeared to be cooking a chunk of wild boar, judging by the smell. Best of all, he felt a warm body pressed against his belly, and he curled his neck to see his lovely wife, arms wrapped around one foreleg while resting her head on the other. For some reason, she was undressed, her smooth skin interrupted only by ragged–

Hiccup shrieked.

Astrid snapped awake and shouted, "Stay!" Hiccup forced himself to relax again. "Good boy!" she jibbed, but Hiccup was not in a joking mood. "Keep that wing over me. A woman needs her privacy."

Hiccup forced himself to take deep breaths to slowly calm down. _{What happened to you?}_

Inside the enclosure of dragon belly and wing, with a little light coming in from above, she looked at the sutures all over her body, then looked at Hiccup and grinned. "If I told you I got in a fight with a couple of Skrills, would you believe me?"

Hiccup whined.

"I'll be fine," she said soothingly. "Remind me to properly thank Ruffnut for carrying those medical supplies I never thought we would ever need on the field. I mean, she had cured sinew, little pliers, a curved needle, everything! Oh, and they made some broth for me – did you know that Fishlegs always packs a pot? – and I'm feeling a lot better now."

Hiccup whined again. _{I'm so sorry! I was too slow, and I exhausted myself so quickly. If I was a little less helpless…}_

Astrid elbowed his stomach. "That is the last we will hear that sort of talk. Understood?" A groan was her only answer. "Good. Really, though, you were amazing, Babe. When you were up in the clouds, and I saw all that lightning… I thought you were dead. But you weren't, and somehow, you… blinked all the way to the ground from the clouds in an instant." She kissed the base of his neck. "That's for defying physics to save me and Toothless."

Hiccup stared at her. _{Wait, that's what you're calling it? Blinking? I blinked from the clouds to the ground? That sounds like Snotlout's work.}_

Astrid rolled her eyes. "And, somehow, it stuck."

_{Speaking of which, where are he and Hookfang? And where are Barf and Belch and the twins? Please tell me they're not still lost.}_

"Oh, they slept the night and flew back to Berk to get some things. Ya know, some more clothing for me, and some additional medical supplies, probably some horrid concoctions that Gothi will demand I drink lest I suffer a painful death at her hands. Oh, and I left Nuffink with your mom and told her I'd be a few days tops, so they're informing her that she's on babysitter duty for a bit longer. It'll take two weeks until my injuries have healed enough to even think about flying, three tops. It'll be torture to be away from Nuffink like this, but I'm going to owe Valka big time when I get back."

Hiccup started purring, causing Astrid to let out a contented moan. _{Correction, _I _will owe her big time when _we _get back. You really did save the day. I was dead and I knew it before you showed up.}_

Astrid smiled at him from inside her winged tent. "Hey, someone's gotta pull your arse out of the fire."

_{At least nobody can say I was naive in trying to insert myself into a hostile situation when I didn't have to.}_

"First time for everything."

Hiccup let out a mock growl at that and shifted slightly to flatten Astrid to the ground.

"Careful!" He froze with a startled yelp. "Sutures."

He let out an apologetic croon as he craned his neck around to inspect the sutures. Nothing appeared to have pulled out, but he couldn't hold back a soft growl at the sight of her injuries.

"To be honest, your purring was a lot more pleasant."

Hiccup dug around and found his way back into a solid purr again.

"Thanks. You should have seen how proud Ruffnut was of her work, though. She said," Astrid shifted her voice to the back of her throat to imitate the subject, "Stormfly, if you lick Astrid's wounds and mess up any of my sutures, I will mess you up in ways you've formerly assumed to be impossible." She chuckled. "I'm assuming the threat extends to you, Babe."

Hiccup chortled at that. _{Well, then, I suppose I have a couple days before I need to worry, if they left only this morning.}_

"Nah," Astrid waved that off. "They should be back by sundown, so you and Storm are keeping my privacy, by the way."

Hiccup wiggled into a more comfortable position and gave her a lick. _{Then I shall camp here with you.}_ A thought suddenly came to mind. If the other riders had slept overnight, took the day's flight to Berk, overnighted there, and were flying back today... _{How long have I been asleep?}_

"Almost three full days. Toothless insisted we make some stew and slip it into you while you snoozed, but you must be starving. I wonder if Stormfly–"

A gust of wind buffeted Hiccup as Stormfly swooped in to land. _{It is good to see you are awake, Firefly! I am so disappointed that I was taken out of the fight so early on, but I'm glad you're as deadly as Toothless ever was. I have some fish for you.}_

Hiccup grinned up at Stormfly, then looked around for the promised food. He suddenly realized that he was absolutely starving.

Stormfly looked up and her throat started contracting. Hiccup groaned.

He had gone through these motions before, when Stormfly first found him and Toothless a few days after their souls had swapped bodies. He knew his instincts would take over, that his head would tilt up and his mouth would open wide. He just wished that he wouldn't close his eyes and purr blissfully in anticipation of the regurgitated fish.

With that deed done, Stormfly took a step back as Hiccup licked his lips. _{That should be enough to get you on your paws, Firefly. I killed that boar over by the fire only this morning, and the riders already took what little they needed. The rest is all yours.}_

It wasn't until Hiccup was halfway to the boar carcass, mid-leap, when he realized that he left Astrid uncovered – not that Fishlegs would try to peek as he would probably faint if he did. However, Stormfly had smoothly slid in to cover for Hiccup's sudden absence.

As Hiccup devoured the boar, he was distantly aware of Fishlegs staring in morbid fascination, saying, "Wow, that sure is… intense." It wasn't until he was crunching down on a hind leg bone that he realized there was nothing else remaining.

Sleep suddenly sounded like a good idea, and Hiccup found himself flopped down on his side.

Something brushed against his belly, and as sleep tugged at his body, he was faintly aware of Toothless making himself comfortable, smiling as he hugged one foreleg. "My turn."


	17. You Can't Make an Omelette

**A/N:  
**Thanks for hanging in there, and thank you Deadly-Bagel for your help. I figure we got 2 more chapters after this. Maybe I'll add an OOC epilogue where I Rick Roll you or something silly like I did in Dragons 101.

Dragonrider's Fury, I figured that if Ruffnut is so adamant that it ain't fun unless you get a scar, she'd be such a common customer that Gothi would get her revenge by putting Ruff to work.

Toothlessgolfer, you're right, the gemstone hasn't been recovered yet. Even if Ruffnut tried to get at it, Fishlegs and Meatlug would make effective bouncers. You're right that the Skrill eggs present so many opportunities, but may the gods have mercy on us all if the twins get to train baby Skrill.

* * *

**You Can't Make an Omelette...**

Toothless idly watched in the fading light as three dragons swooped in to land – or four, depending on how the Zippleback counted, which was liable to change at any time. They had taken off the previous morning to fly to Berk, where they would have delivered the news, acquired some land-strider things, and rested overnight before returning.

Adding Cloudjumper and Valka to their party had not been part of the plan, but here they were.

What also caught Toothless' attention, as Valka unclipped the tethers and cautiously descended, was the saddle clinging to Cloudjumper's back. Valka had always ridden her dragon bareback, relying on her admittedly impressive agility and reflexes to avoid falling through any spins, swoops, or dives.

"Saddle look good on you," Toothless said through a chuckle. He pressed his palm to the dragon's snout as he was sure there would be an amusing story behind this.

Cloudjumper snorted. _{I feel like a horse. Now I know how you feel.}_

Toothless lightly whacked his snout, but the dragon was conveying mirth more than derision. It was always a point of pride to have been the one and only dragon who never had any bits of leather clinging to him for his rider's sake. However, Valka had her heart set on returning Nuffink to his parents, as the joy it would bring Astrid would surely help her to heal. Valka had scrounged up some large, heavy coats, bits of leather, and shed carapace plates to cobble together a sling that pressed the child to her bosom and protected them both from the elements. As an added safety precaution, her request for Cloudjumper to allow a saddle on his back was granted as he preferred that to losing his rider to another dragon for the flight over.

"Valka, Cloud, surprised to see you," Astrid called out, peeking out from underneath Stormfly's wing. "You look like you're bundled up for ragnarok with all those coats… Wait a moment, if _you're_ here, what did you do with Nuffink? No, don't tell me you…"

As Valka started to remove most of the coats, the sound of crying rang out. "Storm, bite her!" Astrid hissed. "Valka, how could you be so reckless, putting him in so much danger, flying out here?! I thought you had more sense than that! He could have frozen or fallen or–" Valka slipped into the winged tent. "Awww, heyyyy, there, little guy. Who's Mamma's handsome little boy? Who's Mamma's snoogie woogie? Is that you? Ahahaaa, it is you!"

Valka emerged and stood, brushing her hands together with a satisfied grin on her face.

Ruffnut slipped in with some clothing wedged between her elbow and hip. "Here, I got your old outfit from your home. And for the record, sending Tuffnut to do that job while I grabbed more bandages was a mistake." She stepped out into the open and said over her shoulder, "Trust me, you just don't want to know."

Something bumped into Toothless' back and he spun around to see Hookfang's snout in his face. _{Toothless, there is a cave in that mountain, and there are Skrill eggs inside.}_

Toothless looked up at said mountain in alarm, then at the sleeping Firefly, then back at Hookfang. "You not smash eggs, did you?"

_{No, it was a tight fit for me anyway, but you should be the one to smash them. You are a black dragon after all, on the inside at least, and the lightning dragons are hated by your kind the most.}_

"I… I... " he looked over at Firefly, unsure of himself. Initially, when he first saw those eggs in the cave, he naturally wanted nothing more than to destroy them. However, he did feel a pang of guilt for what he had put his Firefly through in participating in the death of that mated Skrill pair that laid the eggs. Firefly always wanted to find the more peaceable solution. Toothless… wasn't so sure what to do.

Hookfang clearly picked up on this. _{You will smash the eggs, right? If you won't, then I will."_

"I… I…" Toothless cast a panicked look at Firefly, but he was still deep in sleep after having inhaled most of a boar carcass.

Hookfang was greatly disturbed by this. _{How can you doubt that they should be destroyed?! You know what will hatch from those eggs!}_ He projected a flash of memories, some from his time in the nest before Toothless was dragged in as a hatchling, and other encounters after the demonic queen was destroyed and they encountered Skrill. Those dragons were always full of hate for all others, lashing out and killing just for the sake of spite. They were almost entirely uncontestable in a lightning storm, though they were so rare that they were thought to be extinct for all practical purposes. Firefly had nearly been killed by Skrills on multiple occasions, years ago, though he did manage to get one to leave them alone after what had appeared at the time to be a brainless maneuver to save the Skrill's life.

Still, Toothless couldn't contest Hookfang's assertion that it would be a liability to leave the eggs alone. True, when they hatch, the hatchlings would be feeble and dependent on another dragon to provide for them for some time, but what if some maternal dragon came by and wasn't thinking clearly as she provided for them? What if they somehow survived and grew up to make lightning storms deadly again and kill dragons whenever they could? What if they became a threat to Firefly?

However, what would Firefly do? Toothless couldn't help but allow his imagination to wander. _What if those hatchlings survive and Firefly can intervene?_ This body that Toothless occupied, with its wonderful imagination, was like a hammer. Toothless could clumsily whack at things with it and produce some crude artifacts, but Firefly could elegantly wield it to create an amazing masterpiece.

Assuming that the lightning didn't destroy the gemstone, Firefly would be restored to his normal body in a year, and he would once again be back at doing his regular Firefly thing, encouraging peace and cooperation, turning his most threatening enemies into his most loyal allies through his Firefly magic. If those eggs were destroyed, then this opportunity to work his magic would be denied, and that would sting him on the inside, and the thought of that stung Toothless.

"I not know," he finally said. "Not destroy eggs now. Firefly decide later. Safer that way. Not deny him choice."

_{How can you say it is safer to leave the eggs alone?!}_ Hookfang was shocked and angry, and Toothless could smell the Nightmare's fuel squeezing out of his pores to coat his body. _{These eggs will produce lightning dragons! Leaving them alone is never a good idea! You're not thinking properly!}_

With that, Hookfang's entire body flashed into an inferno. Toothless hopped back with a yelp as Hookfang whirled around towards the mountain and spread his wings to take off.

"STOP!" Toothless shouted. Hookfang stiffened, then turned around to glare at him, billowing fire and smoke from his body.

"Not go there," he calmly said. "Not destroy eggs. Firefly decide."

Hookfang advanced. A monolith of immolation towered over Toothless and growled at him. However, even though he had to look up at his opponent, he stared him down in stoic silence, daring him to speak or act in defiance of his demand. For what felt like an eternity, everyone stared at them in shocked silence, but Toothless would not be deterred.

Finally, the flames engulfing Hookfang's body flickered and faded. He bellowed out a roar that literally rattled Toothless, then leaped up to fly into the sky, fortunately not towards the cave. Firefly didn't even stir in his sleep.

Tuffnut walked up to stand by his side with a rare display of awe on his face. "Dude, that was…"

"Intense," Ruffnut finished for him.

"What was that all about?" Snotlout demanded, arms crossed. "What did you do to get under Hookey's scales like that?"

"Hookfang fine," Toothless said dismissively. "He need be reminded who I am."

"But…" Snotlout started to say. "You mentioned eggs. Is that what Hookfang saw in the cave on the way in?" His gaze drifted to the female Skrill, which had been dragged downwind of the clearing, then back to Toothless. "Those are _Skrill_ eggs in that cave!"

"Yes," Toothless confirmed dismissively.

"Then how can you _not_ want to smash them? You're a Night Fury for Thor's sake! Look at what they've done to anyone unlucky enough to cross their path! Look at what they almost did to you and Hiccup on _multiple_ occasions! Look at _Astrid_!"

He gestured at Astrid, who had just emerged from underneath her dragon's wing, cradling a fussy child and now clothed in her old attire with blue tunic and leggings, skull shoulder pauldrons, and a spike-studded skirt. While her clothing covered most of her, the stitches on her shoulder and arm were plain to see.

"Back in blue, brings back memories," Ruffnut said.

"Good or bad?" Tuffnut asked.

"Yes."

"You can stop staring," Astrid said coldly as she brushed past Snotlout.

"Sorry, Astrid, it's just… your clothing seems to have shrunk a little in certain areas, if you know what I– HRK!" He doubled over as Ruffnut landed a knee in his groin. "Why are girls always so cranky?" he wheezed.

Astrid ignored them as she thrust her child at Valka and stepped right into Toothless' face to grab a handful of his tunic. "Are you _crazy_?!" she shrieked. "We almost _died_! Hiccup had to literally break every rule we know about this physical world to save us from that thing! Do you want to allow these bastards to hatch and finish the job their father failed to do?!"

"You think I not want smash eggs?!" Toothless shouted back, nose-to-nose, jabbing a finger towards the mountain. "You think I want see Skrill again?! You think wrong, but I loyal to Firefly more than I want satisfy myself!"

Both of them had balled fists, arms trembling. Toothless wasn't afraid to come to blows. He knew he could not win a fight against such a skilled opponent, but he would not back down because he loved his Firefly. He would fight to the death without a second thought.

It was Ruffnut who placed a hand on each shoulder and shoved herself between them. "Astrid," she said in a threatening voice, "if you rip out any of the sutures _I_ put in you, if I have to fix you up again, I _will_ make it so painful you'll be begging for a merciful death before you're all patched up."

It was enough. Both of them took a step back and a deep breath. "You not know how much I _hate_ Skrill, how much I want smash eggs," Toothless said coolly. Astrid looked like she had a heated retort to that, but Toothless cut her off as he gave a level stare. "You. Not. Know."

Astrid took a few deep breaths, took her child back from Valka, and sat down against Firefly's side. For a long time, nobody said anything.

Finally, Toothless hummed apologetically. "I not want make you upset," he said quietly. "I sorry for that."

Astrid had eyes only for her child. "Well, it's not like they'll hatch and start flinging lightning tomorrow."

########

* * *

########

The rising sun could not have been brighter. The sky could not have been bluer. The gentle breeze could not have been more pleasant. Hiccup had just woken up, feeling revitalized and full of energy, and Stormfly took a moment to share with him everything that he had missed, including how happy his wife was with their child in her arms.

Still, he kneaded the ground beneath him as he grumbled to himself.

"Oh, quit your whining," Astrid said before going back to holding their child up and making faces at him.

She flicked her head towards the body of the female Skrill. "And you still have to recover that gemstone." It was a task that nobody besides Hiccup and Toothless were allowed to do as they had decided from day one that nobody else would touch it… just in case. Fishlegs and Barf and Belch took turns keeping Ruffnut away from it.

Hiccup huffed at her. She understood why he was upset, now that he was actually awake for longer than it took to inhale a boar carcass. While he was deeply relieved that the threat to his wife and his rider had been dealt with, he was upset that it resulted in the death of the Skrills. He just knew that, if he was in his human body with his imaginative human mind, he would have found a more peaceable solution, though he had no clue what that could be.

Hookfang grunted at Hiccup and let out a cavernous yawn to offer a good view of his namesake before flying off on his own. He didn't like it, but in the end, he would follow Toothless, and Hiccup couldn't help but marvel at how a human could assert his dominance like that. Dragons looked on the mind more than the body, and intensity of will carried much more than physical strength. That was how, on one island, the alpha was a Terrible Terror.

"So, now that you're awake, have you thought about those Skrill eggs?"

Hiccup groaned. He knew that Toothless wanted nothing more than to smash them, and he was far from alone on that. Fishlegs was convinced that any possible reward did not justify the risk. Even Valka had said that there was enough hurt in this world without more Skrill adding to it.

Hiccup did not want to simply smash them, but he felt no certainty what the alternative would lead to. There were some obvious possibilities were they to allow them to hatch. The hatchlings could be left in the wild to allow the forces of nature to make the call for them. They could be raised on Berk, maybe taught compassion. After all, Toothless had once told him that, before he was shot down, he was full of spite and contempt for all other creatures; everything existed solely for the purpose of being dominated. Hiccup's ways of compassion and peace had always been so alien to Toothless that it was only their depthless bond that allowed them to function as a team.

However, such a bond would not exist with the Skrill. For all he knew, it could be that their dominating nature and hatred was instinctual and could not be weeded out. He simply didn't know, and following his heart and doing what felt right was not an option for a dragon. Maybe, after he was back in his human body with his human imagination, he could feel more confident on the course forward, but that ran the risk of choosing something that would sting Toothless so deeply that Hiccup would never forgive himself. It would be as vile as committing adultery, and while Toothless tended to follow Hiccup's lead, this could strain their bond and stain his image in Toothless' eyes.

In the end, he was left with nothing solid. He had no sense of direction. Trust in his rider was his only compass, making the valid conclusion painfully obvious.

_{I can only admire the restraint Toothless exercised in allowing me to decide, but I will put it back into his hands. I will support him unquestioningly in his decision on what to do with the eggs. However, if he refuses to make the decision, it would be because he really wants to smash them but does not want to upset me, so I would smash them myself.}_

Astrid whipped her head around to stare at him with a studious look. "Really?"

_{Yes. That is my decision.}_

"This cannot be easy for you."

_{It is logical.}_

Astrid nodded and smiled. "I'm proud of ya, Babe."

Hiccup returned the smile and nuzzled her cheek before slowly rising to stand. Astrid leaned forward for a moment as Stormfly dove in and shoved Hiccup out of the way to replace him as Astrid's backrest.

Hiccup was bare of any saddle or tailfin, but after a quick dash into the forest to relieve himself, he was able to quickly sniff out both items near the fire. He cringed at the tailfin, though. It was functional, technically speaking, but it had seen better days.

"They bring other tailfin," Toothless said as he approached with one of the spares Hiccup always had lying around on Berk. He wasted no time in rigging up his dragon. "We fly, yes?"

Hiccup nodded and gestured for Toothless to hop up. Nothing was said as they took off and flew into the sky for a lazy joy flight. That quickly devolved into a bout of wild and erratic loops, spins, and dives as they reveled in the thrill of flying together once again.

During all of this, Toothless said nothing. Hiccup paid close attention to any tells he could discern, but Toothless showed no apprehension or anxiousness. Granted, it was impossible to feel anything but a euphoric excitement when flying like this.

When they were high above the island, Toothless loosened the tethers and kicked off for a little freefalling. They twirled around each other, basking in the feeling of absolute freedom before Toothless mounted up again and they leveled out around the top of the mountain.

Hiccup dove down a little more, and Toothless followed his lead, and it wasn't until his paws touched solid rock that Toothless looked around at where they were. Darkness stretched out in one direction, and the blue sky and green forest stretched out in the other.

Toothless dismounted and stared at his dragon. "I say to others that I let you decide. You know what I want, but I not want take away what you want. Maybe selfish to place burden on you, but I want you decide.

Hiccup stared at his rider for a moment. _{Wait here.}_

He then trotted into the darkness, not that it was an issue for him. Some light managed to stab its way into the depths, and his night vision was plenty sufficient to see the Skrill eggs in the nest. He grabbed one and trotted back to Toothless, warbling as he went, and dropped it at Toothless' feet about a wingspan from the edge.

"What… I not understand," Toothless said, full of uncertainty.

With his rider staring on with a slack jaw, Hiccup returned to the nest to retrieve the second egg, then the third. Toothless stared down at the eggs, then up at Hiccup, down, up, down, up.

_{Two can play at your game. I'm passing the responsibility back to you. You have my imagination. You can tell what feels right and wrong. Since it will be much easier to clean my scales than your hairy flesh, I will go and retrieve the gemstone from the Skrill's stomach.}_

"But… but…"

_{Meatlug is waiting nearby to fly you down to the campfire whenever you want, and I'll join up with you there.}_

"But… but… I not want take from you. I take away chance to make peace with those Skrill, but you will be normal again before hatchling can even fly." He gestured to the eggs. "And I not want take this from you."

Hiccup crooned and nuzzled Toothless. _{It is my desire for you to do what will make you happy. I want you to have the satisfaction of doing what you want without me even knowing until it's already done. In fact, I know what you will do. There is no doubt about it, and I am content.}_

"What if what I want not what you want? What if thing I think is right not thing you think is right?"

Hiccup slowly shook his head. _{What is wrong in your eyes cannot be right in my eyes. I cannot love what you hate. For years, you have blindly trusted my intuition. How can I not return the favor?}_ He fixed his rider with a hard stare. _{Promise me that you will decide for yourself, that you will do what you want without trying to guess what I want.}_

"That what you want? Truly?"

Hiccup nodded and gave him a gummy smile. _{I won't know what happened until you tell me, and I had the dragons agree to keep it that way. You can even choose to keep it all your little secret. It makes no difference to me.}_

Toothless stared at his dragon. He knew better than to try to pull a fast one on the Night Fury. He tapped his prosthetic foot on the ground. "What if I not strong enough to break egg?"

_{Simple. Roll it off the edge and it will splatter on the ground far below. Also, you're strong enough to pick up the egg and drop it on the cave floor. You could even drop one egg on top of another to crack two at once. If all else fails, you can always ask Meatlug to smash them for you.}_

Toothless smiled at his dragon, feeling greatly encouraged and empowered. "Good. Thank Firefly. Love Firefly."

########

* * *

########

Toothless squinted at the rising sun as he watched his Firefly leap out into open air, flick his tailfin to lock it into position, and glide down to the ground. The dragon soon disappeared below the lip of the cave entrance, and his eyes landed on the Skrill eggs at his feet.

He already knew what he wanted, and he knew that Firefly's idea for destroying the eggs was more reliable – and probably less painful – than trying to kick them in, so he crouched down and heaved to pick one up. Smashing it here inside the cave would be a lot more satisfying than rolling it off the edge, and lifting the egg higher would probably make the crash all the more enjoyable.

The egg was heavy, but his wobbling arms managed to raise it above his head. He looked down and found a good spot to drop it, right next to the other two where the rocky floor rose up to a point.

"You cannot hurt us anymore!" he shouted triumphantly, and with that he looked down at his target again and–

His trembling hands were not holding an egg above his head, but the handle of a knife. At his feet were not two eggs, but the eyes of a Night Fury staring up at him, bound in ropes and helpless, awaiting its fate. He knew how that dragon felt after it was shot down, thrashing around impotently as it woke up from the demonic queen's mind snare to realize that its entire life was an exercise in humiliation before her. The dragon wanted nothing more than for its suffering to end, to silence the memories flashing through its mind that could think for itself for the first time ever.

He worked up the will to drop the blade of his knife into the neck of the dragon, to bathe in the blood of his enemy and claim the ultimate victory.

The dragon laid its head on the ground with a defeated groan. _{Just kill me now, land-strider. You want it. I want it. Everyone wants it. Perhaps, finally, you will be happy.}_

Firefly had always wanted nothing more than to demonstrate his prowess, to slay the most feared dragon and make the world a better place, but he stopped himself from taking what he wanted even though it was at great risk to himself. Why? Simply because doing so felt right, and it was maddening that there was no other justification.

"I not Firefly!" Toothless shouted down at the defeated Night Fury, frustrated with his hesitation. "I not do what he do. I… I…"

He did not know who he was. The dragon did not know who _he_ was. They were both lost souls, broken and haunted. They had nothing. They _were_ nothing. They were worthless. Useless.

Toothless started to bring down the knife, but he realized he couldn't do it; it just didn't _feel right_. If they were at their lowest, the only way to go was up. If they were broken, the only thing that could happen to them was to be healed. If they were nothing, they could only strive to become _something_!

He hauled up on the knife in his hands, but it was very heavy. No, it was not a knife, but a dragon egg of a species just as broken and dysfunctional as his own. He tried again to lift the egg back up, but it was on its way down and there was no stopping it. His shaking hands slipped and the egg fell, so he leaped forward to grab it on its way down.

WHUMP!

"Owwwww!" he cried out as he flopped against the ground and something heavy smashed his arm and hand against the stone. The egg rolled away, and it was with his heart in his throat that he realized it was approaching the edge of the cave.

He scrambled to his feet to chase after it, but his knee slammed in the most painful way into another egg and sent it rolling to join its partner. Lightning coursed through his leg when he put weight on his bruised knee, but he hobbled forward as fast as he could to chase after the eggs. He was so close…

But he was too slow. As the first egg dropped over the edge, a thought suddenly sprang to mind.

"Meatlug!" he shouted. "Catch! Eggs! Catch eggs! Save them!"

He had put so much concentration into forcing his addled mind to find the words to shout out that he ended up stumbling forward. His hands flew out to break his fall, but one of them found only empty air no matter how far down it reached. He frantically thrashed to find some footing to stop himself from sliding over the edge, but it was too late. He scrabbled at the lip, but it was too smooth to grab onto anything.

In that moment of weightlessness, there was only one thought that came to mind.

_Even before hatching, these blasted Skrill somehow managed to kill me! Is this my reward for trying to save them?! _

Something squished his sides in, and claws dug into his tunic as he was lifted back up to the mouth of the cave. The buzzing of a Gronckle's wings told him that Meatlug had just saved his life.

As he was released to collapse on the floor of the cave, he looked up at the one remaining egg, and it was with great disappointment that he realized he actually felt relief. It was only one, but one was better than none. Maybe, in the end, one could change the world, just like one crazy land-strider and one maimed dragon.

Something clattered behind him, and he turned to see two eggs rolling out of Meatlug's large mouth.

"How…" Toothless started to say.

Meatlug gave his face a lick, drenching him in saliva, and offered her muzzle for him to touch so he could hear her.

_{That was fun! Do you have anything else you want to toss out? I do enjoy playing fetch almost as much as a certain black dragon I know.}_

Toothless stared at the two eggs dripping with saliva. "How…"

_{Oh, catching two falling eggs and one land-strider without breaking anything wasn't even a challenge, and you should know that. Let's do it again, but with all three eggs! Please don't throw yourself again, though, as I would never forgive myself if I made a mistake and allowed you to come to harm.}_

Toothless stared at Meatlug, blinking the saliva out of his eyes. He couldn't take it any longer, so he threw himself at her and flung his arms around her maw. "Love Meatlug. Thank Meatlug!"

The dragon stepped back to arms-length to give him a hard stare. _{Do you really intend to spare these eggs, at least for now?}_

Toothless straightened. "Yes. I… I… I think I want hatch them and raise them. It just–"

_{Yes, it just feels right. Even with the mind of one of the most pragmatic and ruthless dragons I've ever met, you land-striders are very silly creatures!}_

Toothless fell to his knees as he lost himself in laughing and crying.

_Silly land-striders, crying when sad _and _happy_.

"Yes, Meatlug, yes we are!"


	18. Where There's Smoke, There's Fire

**A/N:  
**Thanks for joining me again, and thanks to Deadly-Bagel for betaing. Wow, I got a lotta comments. Thanks y'all for dropping a line!

JustANormalHTTYDFan, Toothless as a human (and as a dragon too) has been a really fun character to work with. I'm no psychologist, and I'm kinda making up my rules as I go, but dragons and humans are both intelligent creatures in my universe, they simply think differently because of the hardware they have. Therefore, I'd think it'd be natural for Toothless to think a little more like Hiccup, like a human with more imagination and emotion. Throughout my stories, Hiccup and Toothless have always had an impact in shaping each other's growth, and I don't see why this experience should be an exception, even were they to switch back to their regular bodies.

Epclaymore, every time I finish a story, I tell myself that I'm done with HTTYD fanfics… and this is my 7th story lol, so we'll see. I'm currently trying to talk myself out of trying a Hidden World adaptation, and the fact that the plotline needs more than chicken wire and duct tape to fix makes it feel easier to resist trying.

Wodenfang, Yeah, I can just imagine Toothless with the Skrill babies – Skrillbies™! _{You want a fish? You want it? Sit. Good, now lay. Good. Roll over. Now, reaffirm your vow to never hurt me or my Firefly!}_

Toothlessgolfer, Yeah, Hiccup's decision to let Toothless whack the eggs definitely would be outta character for him normally, especially in my universe where his black-scaled bodyguard has allowed him to become increasingly more bossy while still trying to be an idealist... until Stoick's death. I figured, since I always have Toothless following Hiccup's lead in part because the dragon can't make the blind leaps of logic or follow intuition, It'd be fun to give Hiccup a taste of that medicine.

Hicstridalways, thank you for the kind words! Funny you ask about the gemstone and lightning…

* * *

**Where There's Smoke, There's Fire**

Hiccup approached a fallen tree and stared at it contemplatively for a small fraction of the blink of the eye. The wood didn't smell too rotten, so it would be a good candidate. The trunk was too large to break with his own strength, at least for the bottom wingspan, but the branches could be broken off and trimmed to size with some decisive bites.

One quick bite and jerk of his head tore a branch from the trunk near the base, and another bite, with the branch held steady under one paw, broke it to the appropriate length. Some more bites and flicks of his paw removed anything splitting from the branch, leaving him with a relatively straight and smooth beam.

Branch in mouth, head held high, he trotted over to the clearing to deposit it alongside the others that he had already stacked. This completed the second row, which was laid crosswise to the first. Three more to go, or maybe four just to be safe. Progress was swift; this would be done in no time at all.

He liberated and trimmed another branch from the felled tree, but as he trotted back, he noticed Astrid stiffly walking across the clearing towards him with their child cradled in her arms. She must have wanted to talk to him, so he dropped his load and bounded over to her to save her from having to walk all the way.

"Thanks, but I want to stretch out a little bit," she said, and Hiccup could tell just by looking at her that she was trying to figure out a diplomatic way to voice an objection she had, so after a few quick sniffs at the healing wound to verify that there was no infection, he flanked her in silence, allowing her to decide when to spill the beans.

As they approached his construct, she gave him a flat stare. "I thought so. Really? You're making a pyre for the two dragons that almost killed you, me, Stormfly, and Toothless?"

Hiccup gave her a gummy smile and picked up the branch again to place it on the third row.

"I know why you're doing this…" she started to say, and Hiccup had absolutely no doubt that she was spot-on. Though he had come to accept what had happened, it still rankled him to have been part of killing two dragons _and_ leaving them to rot. Building a pyre for them was his way of showing respect. He still could not conceive of any alternative outcome that would have left himself and his loved ones intact, but the thought of doing this brought him a feeling of satisfaction. Nobody would have to know, when he would light the pyre, that he would silently say a prayer to the gods that such a catastrophe would never happen again.

"... but the only reason I'm allowing this is because it's only practical to burn these stinking carcasses so they don't– MMPH!" Hiccup dragged his tongue across her face and gave her an innocent smile. "HICCUP!" She glared at him. "If I wasn't holding Nuffink right now, I'd rearrange every feature of your body!"

Hiccup offered his tailfin to wipe her face off with, and though he yelped when she bit it, he didn't mind her claiming vengeance. In retrospect, he knew he had it coming.

A faint cry reached his ears, and he whirled around in a panic to look up at the mountain. His sharp eyes saw a couple specks that must have been eggs falling from the cave and down the mountainside, followed by Toothless. However, he could also see Meatlug moving to intercept from her position just below the mouth of the cave, and as he focused his senses, he could feel the panic in Toothless quickly melting away. After a quick inquiry projected at Meatlug, he learned that she had his safety well in hand – or well in paw.

Secure in the knowledge of Toothless' safety, Hiccup quickly looked away. As much as possible, it mattered to him that he remained as ignorant as possible about the fate of those Skrill eggs so that Toothless wouldn't feel any compulsion against destroying them.

Though it would have been too far away for Astrid to see in any detail, she was clearly concerned. "Was that Toothless?"

Her hands were full, so Hiccup pressed his chin against her forehead so that she could hear him. _{Yes. He somehow managed to throw himself down the mountain along with the eggs, but Meatlug caught him. She says he's unharmed, except maybe mentally, or it could just be because he's in a human body with a human brain.}_

"So, I'm guessing he did what we both expected with the eggs?"

Hiccup sighed. _{I told her and all the other dragons that I don't want to know the fate of the eggs. Toothless can tell me himself if he wants to, but it is important to me that I remain entirely ignorant for now. However, I ruined it for myself by looking for the briefest moment and saw the eggs falling out of the mouth of the cave.}_

Astrid shrugged and continued to cross the short distance to the pyre. "It's the thought that counts. Still, I'm surprised. I woulda thought that kicking them in or smashing them on the cave floor would have been more satisfying than just shoving them out to fall to the ground far below."

Hiccup offered a shrug, then trotted over to the fallen tree to return with another branch.

"Oh, and please tell me that you're not burning the Skrills as a way of retrieving that gemstone. I know it's messy, but that's a risk we shouldn't take. Just suck it up and dig it out yourself."

Hiccup patted a leaf-strewn patch of ground with his tail. Digging the gemstone from the belly of that rotting corpse was the first thing he had done before starting the pyre. It was a very messy process, and after burying the gemstone and disguising where it was, a bit of Cloudjumper's fire and rolling around in the sandy shallows had left him with clean scales and a renewed appreciation for how pragmatic dragons could be.

"Ah, smart," Astrid said. "I bet the twins will deduce the gemstone's location in no time at all, once they return from goofing around, but that'll give you time to tackle Ruffnut and stick her in a tree before she can dig it up."

Hiccup gave Astrid a very genuine grin. Only she could have guessed _exactly_ what was going through his mind.

She stood and watched as Hiccup expeditiously built the pyre. As he was finishing the fifth layer, the approaching buzz of wings heralded Meatlug and Toothless returning from the cave.

Toothless hopped down and ran over, shouting, "Firefly, I did it! I did it!"

Hiccup pressed his snout to his rider's hand. _{I know. You tossed the eggs down the mountain. If this brought you some satisfaction or a sense of resolution, then I am very happy for you.}_

Toothless stepped back and stared at Hiccup as if he was slapped. "No! I drop egg and it roll out of cave and I fall, but I–"

_{Yes, and that was one reason I had asked Meatlug to be there for you.}_ He gave his rider an evil smirk. _{I figured you'd probably fall out.} _

Toothless started to turn red. "No, eggs fall and I fall and Meatlug catch–"

_{Yes, I must admit that I sneaked a peek to see that she caught you. It was child's play for how nimble a Gronkle is, and you know that.}_

"Firefly!" Toothless shouted, upset. Hiccup planted his haunches on the ground and patiently waited. "I want tell you I throw eggs out of cave but I–"

_{You don't have to explain yourself, Toothless. I'm not upset at all. There is nothing you need to justify or defend.}_

It was only then that Hiccup noticed Meatlug writhing around on her back, bellowing out some mirthful chortles. She was doing as asked by offering no elaboration, but it was obvious that something about this was massively amusing to her.

Toothless grabbed the bridge between Hiccup's nostrils. "I want hatch eggs!"

Hiccup gave his cheek a little lick. _{I'm afraid it's too late for that, Toothless. There is nothing to do about it but to learn from this. Life is often easy to take but always impossible to give back. A flame snuffed out may be rekindled, but it is a new flame; the old flame is lost forever.}_

Meatlug snorted, gagged, coughed, spat out a bit of molten lava, and resumed her dragon equivalent of rolling on the ground, laughing out loud.

"RRRRR! Firefly!" he shouted. "I not break eggs!"

Hiccup stared at him, studying him closely for the first time. He almost dared to believe…

"I not break eggs," he said again. "I going to, but then I think about it, and it not feel right."

Hiccup stared at him in shock, and a quick inquiry to Meatlug was returned with a near-instant sharing of her memories of the incident. After she deposited Toothless and the eggs on the cave floor, he had asked her to bring them down to the campfire where Stormfly was willing to brood over them.

It was such a shock, he almost couldn't believe it, but then again, he knew that Toothless was telling the truth. "Like lying to a dragon," had become a saying among riders as an expression for something that was practically impossible. Having been smacked in the face with something so massively unpredictable, he could think of no more appropriate response than to flop his belly to the ground and then flip over to writhe around on his back in ecstatic joy before finally nuzzling his rider's leg.

"You _WHAT_!?" Astrid shouted at Toothless.

Toothless looked at her and shrugged. "I surprise me too. It just not feel right. Not know if that make sense."

"Hiccup, hold him," she said as she placed Nuffink in Hiccup's open mouth – which he scrambled in alarm to make void of any teeth.

Astrid then slapped Toothless hard enough that his cheek started to turn a little rosy.

Toothless stared at her, shocked and infuriated.

"But I do good thing!" he shouted indignantly.

"Yak shit!"

Hiccup huffed at that. _{Welcome to my world.}_

Astrid stormed off. "Stormfly! I have a bone to pick with you!"

########

* * *

########

Hiccup awoke suddenly at a sharp sound. Careful to avoid disturbing his rider and wife pressed against his belly, he lifted his head and looked around.

The dragons were laid out around the campfire with their riders sleeping beside or beneath. Stormfly was the exception as she had three purple eggs underneath her belly, content to manifest her mothering instincts. Her distaste for the Skrill was no exception, but her trust and willingness to grant Toothless his request was enough for her.

For some reason, there was a hole in the ground a couple wingspans away, and a green mist emanated from it. Also, Ruffnut was running out of it, gasping for air. She gave a sheepish look at Hiccup, then a harsh glare at Barf, her head of the Zippleback dragon that was staring down at her.

"Spoilsport!" she hissed.

Hiccup gave an inquiring look at Barf, as the other head was still slumped against the ground in sleep.

_{Nothing to worry about anymore, Firefly. I took care of her.}_

That didn't make sense initially, until Barf flashed an image of the gemstone to Hiccup's mind. Suddenly, he connected the dots. He was sprawled out on top of where he had buried the gemstone… and Ruffnut was digging a tunnel underneath him.

Hiccup bared his teeth at her.

"Eee hee hee, uhh, nice dragon?" Ruffnut said coyly.

Hiccup yawned and rolled his eyes. _{Barf, I'd be grateful if you could make sure she doesn't try that again.}_

Barf snatched the shovel out of Ruffnut's hand – one of the twins' main go-to tools for setting up pranks on the field – and tossed it aside.

"Aww, Barf, don't be like that. I was only– Ah!"

The dragon head snatched her coat in his teeth to drag her down, and he shifted forward to lay on top of her. _{You don't even need to ask, Firefly, as if I would want to be in a land-strider body, my mind isolated from the world.}_

Tuffnut and Belch – the other Zippleback head – grumbled sleepily about being distrurbed for an instant before resuming their snoring with gusto.

"I will never forget this!" came the muffled shout from below the Zippleback. "My revenge will be swift and–" The dragon shifted a little. "Mmmmm, mmmmph mmmm!"

Hiccup tucked his head underneath his wing again. One becomes accustomed to such things after enough exposure.

########

* * *

########

Hiccup gave a little grunt to alert his rider that they were approaching the island. Not too far ahead was where all this trouble began, and hopefully, where it would end.

Aside from Toothless, his only companion for this flight was Cloudjumper. Valka had remained behind with Astrid and the others to keep her company and aid in the minutia of caring for a child. That also left Stormfly available to lead the others on a hunt to find Hiccup and Toothless if they didn't return the next day.

Honestly, Hiccup wasn't surprised at all when nothing happened after he and Toothless had touched the gemstone. It had that mesmerizing, shifting glow once again, as when they first discovered it, but Hiccup was so accustomed to disappointment with this cursed thing that he expected nothing. Still, there was hope. When he and Toothless swapped bodies, the gemstone was resting on its pedestal inside its cave, and that might have been a significant detail.

They descended, but Hiccup gave a surprised bark at the sight of narrow columns of smoke drifting up. A little closer, he could see some smelters made from stone and mud, and Vikings were dumping in rocks and charcoal. There were a couple ships docked offshore bearing the Meathead crest.

Hiccup shared his sight with his rider, and then it hit him.

_{Oh, right, of course.}_

"Oh, right, of course."

The Meatheads had learned about what had happened in the cave. They were all too happy to oblige the request to keep away from the cavern that had contained the gemstone as they figured that this only was cursed. The men reportedly got the shivers every time they walked near or past that chamber, so they were happy to leave it be, but that left the rest of the cave open for mining.

Also, after spending an instant thinking about it, Hiccup realized that it made sense to bring charcoal and workers to the island to smelt the ores there rather than haul so much stone back. On a good day, a hundred pounds of ore would yield a single pound of workable metal, so it only made sense to smelt it all right outside the mine.

Since the Meathead tribe was a good ally and had their own dragon riders, Hiccup circled once overhead and let out a roar to announce his presence before descending to land outside the mouth of the cave. Inside the cave, he could sense the mental projections of seven miners. Outside, he could see thirty-three Vikings hauling stones from the cave, feeding stones and charcoal into the smelting stacks, working the bellows, hammering blooms into ingots, and constructing and deconstructing mounds for turning wood into charcoal. The ringing, clanging, _painful_ sounds of pickaxes rang out from within the cave. People turned to look at him for a moment, but everyone was familiar with the mostly friendly Night Fury that only nipped at those who treated his rider with disrespect.

Hiccup looked around for someone who appeared to be in charge. At a probing glance, one Meathead grunted and pointed to the only person who was watching over a charcoal mound.

As Hiccup studied the Viking, he realized that he knew the man. Sifting through his memories with the speed and clarity that only a dragon could achieve, he realized that the pattern of freckles on the man's forehead brought back a memory from half a lifetime ago, when some woman, probably his wife, called him "Arn" and then threatened great bodily harm if he didn't get the firewood supply replenished by sundown.

As he approached, the Viking said, "Afternoon, Hiccup–" he looked at Toothless. "Toothless–" he looked at Hiccup.

Toothless opened his mouth to correct him, but Hiccup gave a light grunt. _{You know how long it can take to explain things to a Viking, and if all goes well, there will be no need soon.}_

"And… ummm, Cloud… Humper?"

Hiccup and Toothless broke down laughing and rolling around on the ground. Cloudjumper made known his disposition with a tail slap to the face of everyone.

After what felt like a breathless eternity, Toothless managed to squeeze out, "Cloud _Jumper_."

"Oh," Arn said as he rubbed his stinging cheek, the one slapped by Cloudjumper's tail. "Hit me again, dragon, and see what I call ya."

Hiccup quickly took a step forward and gave a stern stare to both of them.

"Uh, nice dragon," Arn said soothingly and a little worriedly. To Toothless, he said, "To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit from the Hooligan chief? Or… are you still? I heard there was some sort of scuffling about that over yonder."

Hiccup and Toothless exchanged a worried glance. They had been away for a week, but that wasn't something they could do anything about. Besides, his information was probably a month old at least, and any wrinkles on Berk had been ironed out for now, at least until they returned from the Hysteric tribe with news on the gemstone and lenses that they no longer needed… probably.

_{It doesn't matter. His name is Arn, by the way. Just ask him to tell his miners to take a break so we can go in without my head splitting like firewood under the ax.}_

Toothless nodded. "Not matter, Arn. All good. We want go in cave. Noise loud. Not like. Tell them stop so we can go in cave."

"Not even a 'please'" Arn grumbled. "Alright, I suppose they could use a break anyway. Are you going to go check out that haunted chamber?"

"Yes."

"How long will you need? I have lanterns so you can leave your dragon out here so my men can continue mining."

_{Tell him we'll be out before they've even cooled off.}_

"Not long. We gone before they cool off. Send them out." Hiccup grumbled. "_Please_."

_{Well, that wasn't awkward at all.}_

"There's something a little off about you," Arn said. "Something… awkward."

After an uncomfortable moment staring at a silent rider, Arn walked off towards the cave. From inside, they heard the bellow of, "Alright, c'mon out ya slack-jawed belly-achers! Get some water and fresh air and don't say I never done nothin' for ya!"

The cave was promptly evacuated as the miners threw themselves to the ground to bask in the sunlight and fresh air and groan about their backs and wrists.

Hiccup and Toothless plunged into the cave. It was too tight of a fit for a dragon as large as Cloudjumper, so he stayed outside. The air was smokey from lanterns used by the miners, but it was still breathable.

_{See that lantern on the ground there? Grab it by the handle on top. Good, now wiggle it back and forth. Good, it sounds like it has plenty of oil.}_

From behind, they heard Arn's voice. "Hey, Cloud… _Jumper_. Would an apology and some fish grant me some of your fire?"

They moved on, leaving the outside world behind, and easily found the "cursed" cavern. The walls were as smooth as he remembered and just as littered with runes of many languages. Toothless dug through the saddlebag to retrieve the gemstone, and it was still glowing. He walked up to the pedestal in the center of the chamber and carefully placed it back in the unnaturally smooth stone hands.

"Wait!" he said as he grabbed the lantern and looked over the walls. "Where it? Where the thoughts on stone?"

Hiccup knew exactly what he meant and nosed at a part of the wall that had the Norse runes.

"Sky light!" he spat out with disdain. "We think it fire in sky, sun, but it not. Well, maybe that too, but it lightning too."

_{We don't know that yet.}_

Toothless shrugged. "Not matter. I add this now." He rummaged through the saddlebag for a charcoal pencil and returned to the wall. "Hrrrr, how I put thoughts on wall?"

He had learned to draw – and Hiccup gave only praise for the scribbles he had enthusiastically produced – but he'd never learned the runes. With one hand on his dragon to hear him, he saw the shape of each rune to draw, and his other hand carefully drew them with the pencil. Sorta. Close enough. A Viking might eventually realize what he was trying to write.

With that done, they returned to the pedestal and stood looking at it, then each other. This was _the_ moment of truth. They were about to both touch the gemstone and… well, if Hiccup was honest with himself, he was prepared to face disappointment again.

Toothless touched a finger to the gemstone, but then he pulled back in thought. "This what Firefly want?"

Hiccup stared at him and gave a confused little trill.

"Do you want become land-strider again, Firefly?"

That… was not something Hiccup had thought about for a while. The experience of being a dragon was far more intense than he had ever imagined. The feeling of the wind underneath his own wings, the thrill of the fight – even when it was just play fighting with Stormfly – the physical prowess that came with being a Night Fury, it was all so visceral and exciting!

_Gods, I can run. I can _run_!_

If he chose to remain a dragon, the tribe would likely accept him as still being their chieftain, and that could only help him integrate dragons into Viking tribes more effectively. Then again, a dragon had no arms to cradle his child, but Nuffink would probably grow up being proud to be the one and only literal son of a dragon. It would certainly be different. Nuffink would end up as an only child, but he was a male heir, so it wasn't that big of a deal. And maybe, just maybe, they might all agree that Nuffink should have a sibling and… no. That probably would not fly, and Hiccup would not suggest it.

Hiccup stared deep into his rider's eyes. _{What do you want, Toothless? Don't tell me you'd prefer to be a human than a dragon?}_

Toothless thought about that for a moment. "I like fingers and thumb. Drawing fun. Play with rope fun." He gave a devious grin. "I still tie you up in sleep, think I know how, now. It new thing for me. New is fun. Can always change back later if change mind." He stared at his dragon. "If _we_ change mind. But not take away choice from you. Love Firefly. If Firefly want be land-strider again, then we change back now. I give choice to you. Not give choice back this time."

Hiccup already had his answer. If someone like him was a Night Fury and someone like Toothless had walked in Hiccup's boots from the start, the world would have been a different place. The Red Death would still command her army of dragon thralls to raid the tribes. There was a reason that Hiccup grew up as the downtrodden runt, and there was a reason that Toothless was a dragon that Vikings were told to hide from and pray he did not find them. No matter the ramifications of this change, they were meant to be who they always were, and to fight against that was to disregard the importance of what made them who they were.

Hiccup lifted a front paw and gently pressed Toothless' hand against the gemstone, and Toothless nodded.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath... and leaned his muzzle forward.

* * *

**A/N 2.0:  
**Whew! That was quite the journey, but it feels good to have seen this story through to the end. I'd like to thank you for sticking it out with me and–

"FizzleMcSchnizzle!"

Yeah, anyway, what'd ya think of it? I like the part where.

"You are _not_ doing this to us!"

Oh, c'mon, they're back in the cave, and the gemstone is glowing. _Glowing_ for Thor's sake.

"I don't know who you are."

So, anyway, I'd love to hear any comments you have and–

"I don't know what you want."

Yeah, and clicking that favorite button if you haven't already–

"But I will look for you."

Alright, that's just borderline creepy.

"I will find you."

Oh, c'mon.

"And I will kill you."

… With love?

*CLICK*

Fine, I was just pulling your leg. There's still one more chapter. Don't say I never done nothin' for ya. :P


	19. What's Old Is New Again

**A/N:  
**I got an A/N at the end of the chapter, so lemme dive straight in to responding to any questions.

Toothlessgolfer, you know me, all my cliffhangers are real because I am evil. ;) Also, yes, skrillbies for sure.

Dragonrider's Fury, in your defense, don't worry, I had such plot twists in mind already. Let me just say that when you start reading this chapter, if you find yourself shouting, "No! FizzleMcSchnizzle, you did NOT just do what I think you just did!" all I have to say is "Muahahahahahaaaaa!" Also, I suppose I did kinda leave things hanging with the pyre. It'll be one of those mysteries that make life interesting lol.

Ember, as you guessed, I'm not delving deep into life on Berk with baby Skrills, and I'm kinda leaning towards leaving that open. Until I started writing the chapter where Toothless decides what to do with the eggs, I never considered letting them survive. More details in the A/N at the end of chapter.

Epclaymore, that is the awesomest description of a cliffhanger I've ever heard!

* * *

**What's Old Is New Again**

Toothless sat on a grassy bluff, overlooking the village of Berk, and the endless sea beyond that and past the cliffs. It felt good to be home again, surrounded by the dragons and land-striders he knew well. Though it was chilly enough that he had to wear a coat, he was barefoot, enjoying the sensation of dirt and grass grinding between his toes.

Down below, two villagers were in a heated discussion with Firefly, even though he was a Night Fury, no doubt arguing about silly land-strider things. Toothless tensed up, ready to run if he was needed as a translator, but Firefly made eye contact and gave a subtle shake of his head. He was fine.

"Toothless, good to see you again, even under such circumstances," came the deep, throaty voice of a land-strider behind him.

Toothless was expecting his friend, so he simply patted the grass next to him with a smile. "Take boots off. Grass feel good."

His friend hesitated for a moment, but then he did just that, slowly pulling off his heavy leather boots. Toothless liked this land-strider a lot, second only to Firefly. From the day they first met, before the dragon war ended, they always seemed to understand each other in a deep and meaningful way, even if one didn't always like what the other did. However, for some reason, Toothless couldn't recall his friend's name. He was used to this, though it was still annoying, the frailty of the land-strider's grip on memories and details.

"You're right, Toothless, this is nice," his friend said. They both spent a moment digging furrows in the grass with their toes. "I've always been so focused on doing something, getting things done, that I've never taken the time to just enjoy entirely pointless pleasures."

Toothless snorted at that. "I know how you feel. We both like that, too tense too much. But not pointless. It good to just feel good sometimes. Like how land-strider learn to hear dragon. Meditate. Not hear unless spend much time doing nothing, thinking nothing."

His friend smiled at that. "I suppose you're right, Toothless. Ya know, I don't think I've ever given you the credit you deserve for your wit and wisdom that you show sometimes."

"_Some_ times," Toothless groused, and they both laughed at that. Toothless waved it off. "I think you did. Maybe land-strider mind lose grip on memory."

His friend chuckled at that, but then his expression turned somber and serious. "There's something on your mind, I can tell. Since we're both trying to relax, let me help. Spit it out. A burden is lighter when it is shared."

Toothless stared out over the sea for a while, trying to organize his thoughts. He could sense that his friend was waiting very patiently, fully aware that he was not being ignored. They both knew that it could take time to properly grapple with a thought.

"Dragons will die," Toothless finally said.

Another long spell of silence passed. Finally, his friend said, "Dragons, humans, beasts and bugs alike. Yes, we all die someday. What matters is what you do with your life, however long or short it is, and what you leave behind."

Toothless thought about that, slowly nodding as that did make sense. However, it wasn't what he was getting at. "Maybe not right word," he finally said. "What you say if dragons live on island, then land-striders come and kill them all, and there are no more dragons on island."

"Hmm, there was a time when I would call that a good deed, cleansing the world of demons one island at a time."

Toothless snorted at that.

"I suppose 'wiped out', maybe 'eradicated' or 'extinct' might be the word you're looking for?" his friend suggested.

Toothless nodded. "Yes, that. Extinct. But not just island. All islands. World. All that is, all places dragons live, they die. All dragons, all gone."

His friend snorted incredulously. "Don't see that happening. Dragons are bigger than us, they got scales, wings, oh, and they can also breathe fire."

Toothless stared down at the villagers below, nodding at the points being made. It was uncomfortable to talk about, but for some reason, doing this felt healing, like licking at a wound no matter how much pain he felt.

He pointed to his teeth. "Blunt." He pointed to a fingernail. "Small." A pinch of skin. "Soft." A slap to his arm. "Weak." He looked at his friend. "But land-striders able to fight dragons. Wear armor. Hide behind shield. Swing ax and sword. Throw spear. Make thing that throw large stones."

"Aye. We have had a few hundred years to figure out how to properly fight dragons, and who knows how many thousands more learning to fight each other. It seems that no matter how much we develop art and music and dancing, fighting is a constant for all ages, in all places."

Toothless grinned. "Not fight _all_ things."

His friend looked sideways at him with a raised eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Speed, unknown. Size, unknown. The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. Never engage this dragon. Your only chance: Hide and pray it does not find you."

His friend's expression made it clear that he almost instantly recognized the reference. "Yeah, until some snarky kid just goes and shoots you down." He grinned. "Wish I coulda seen the look on your face." He slapped Toothless' shoulder, then held a hand by his head and let it arc down to the ground. "Nooooooo!" he shouted dramatically.

Toothless chuckled at that memory that he fondly held close to his heart. "I very mad that night. Then wake from mind snare, and very sad. Then see Firefly, and want him to kill me. I look back and smile, though. Start of new life. Better life. No regret. Not one."

His friend shifted uncomfortably. "I took us on a detour. You were saying?"

Toothless stared blankly, scrabbling to recall what he was saying. "Ah! Firefly show me how he shoot me from sky." He tapped a finger to his temple. "Back when I dragon and he land-strider, and he learn to hear dragons. He show me memory of bola launcher. Building it, hiding it, breaking it, fixing it, failing with it, building it again. He do what no other land-strider do. Firefly clever. _Very_ clever."

His friend nodded. "Yes, he certainly is. Nobody can deny that."

"Firefly not only clever land-strider."

Another nod. "I suppose you're right about that too. It seems too rare, but every now and then, I've come across someone with a certain light in their eyes, and I can tell that they're connected with the world in a rare way."

"Rare, yes, but enough. One is clever and make new thing, then others less clever see how and make more things." He spared a glance to see if his friend could tell where he was going with this. "Firefly make bola launcher. It destroyed, and he burn plans, but some other land-strider figure it out. They make, improve, shoot net instead of bola, even better. Others see how, and they make. Every dragon trapper ship has at least two, some many more."

"True there. They're trouble for dragons, but worthless against Vikings on the ground or other ships on the sea. At least they're encouraging people to trap dragons instead of straight-up kill them. It gives the riders opportunities to free them."

Toothless shook his head. "But that only start. Arrow with poison that knock dragon out of sky. Thing in water that make dragon act crazy. Blue flower that make dragon drowsy, or even die."

"I suppose you've got a point. We humans can be a nasty lot."

Toothless nodded. "But why stop there? Not see yet, but what new thing some land-strider make to fight dragon? Capture dragon? Dragons strong, we fly, we breathe fire, yes. We not get stronger, we not fly faster, our fire not get hotter. But land-striders…"

His friend seemed to understand. "Hmm, I suppose that makes sense. Every generation seems to have its one genius who makes a discovery or invention that everyone can benefit from. But dragons..." he sighed. "I don't think it's a bad thing to be so focused on enjoying life instead of finding bigger and better ways to kill and conquer."

Toothless nodded enthusiastically at the traction he was making. "Yes. Land-striders will find way to get stronger and stronger. Shoot arrow farther. Maybe, some day, a land-strider make thing that let them fly without dragons. Fly _faster_ than dragons. _Higher_ than dragons." He looked up at the sky. "Reach up, past clouds, touch shiny things in sky. Make fire like dragons. Bigger, hotter than dragons. Burn not just tree or house, but entire island. Maybe, some day, burn entire world."

His friend thought about that for a while. Finally, he slowly said, "So, you're saying that, some day, us humans will be so powerful that killing all dragons would be trivial? I can't see that happening in a hundred generations, but I see the logic of what you're suggesting."

Toothless nodded grimly. "Firefly kind. Firefly give, not take. Firefly… Hrrrrrrr, not like me, why I like him. But he not live forever. Other land-striders will be clever, but will they be like Firefly? Some day, a few land-striders kill all dragons, easy. If not, then make them pets. Then they not truly dragons anymore."

"Huh," his friend said, deep in thought. "That's… quite the tall tale. But hey, who knows what the future could hold. Six years ago, if someone told me that we'd be riding dragons, that ya scaly devils would be our friends, I'd have him killed."

Toothless snorted. "You almost did!"

They both chuckled at that. Eventually, the laughter died down and some silence passed. "Have you shared your thoughts with Hiccup?" his friend asked.

Toothless shook his head. "Not yet."

"Good! Keep it that way. Personally, I don't see any good in letting him stew and simmer on that. It's one thing to give one's children a better world to live in, but worrying about things that far beyond the horizon, things beyond your control, that can only stop you from doing what's good and right in the present.

A distinct, sharp bark caught Toothless' ear, and his eyes scanned around until he found Firefly at the edge of a field. There were some land-striders gathered around him, seemingly holding a contest to see who could interrupt the other the most. It was probably another case of one land-strider's cattle walking through another land-strider's broken fence to munch on his crop.

Firefly flicked his head to indicate that he needed some help. Toothless snapped his teeth and grinned, and Firefly rolled his eyes.

"I need go, help Firefly," Toothless said, rising to stand.

His friend put a hand on his shoulder. "I need to go as well. And, Toothless…" He paused in thought. "Don't ever feel like you need to figure out the solution by yourself. Or that it needs to happen in your lifetime. After all, the answer you seek could be something you wouldn't want, speaking from experience." He smiled. "You never know when another Hiccup will come along and change the world, or when your worst enemy may end up becoming a great ally after being knocked down."

Toothless smiled at that. "You right. Another Firefly, another Toothless, in another place, at another time. Can the world ask for any better?"

His friend snorted and shoved him along.

Suddenly, Toothless remembered his friend's name. "Stalwart," _or Stoick as the land-striders call him_, he silently reminded himself, "I sorry I kill you."

Stoick rolled his eyes. "What did I just tell you about worrying about things beyond your control?"

Toothless breathed a sigh of relief. So Stoick _did_ know that Toothless wasn't exactly in control of himself at that time. "It just feel right to say."

"Alright, fine, apology accepted." He grinned. "Now, go help Hiccup. Gods know he needs all the help he can get. The world needs him, people like him, but he also needs you to be you, so don't let him infect you too much with his way of thinking."

Toothless smiled and turned around to help his Firefly. On the way over, he stopped by the smithy and picked up two maces. He knew _exactly_ how to help these land-striders settle their grudge.

########

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########

Hiccup sat on a grassy bluff, overlooking the village of Berk, and the endless sea beyond that and past the cliffs. It felt good to be home again, surrounded by the dragons and humans he knew well. A chilly wind blew across his scales, invigorating him, and he idly dug his claws through the grass and dirt.

However, he felt a sad sense of loss. He turned to the three young dragons at his side, rubbing muzzles and chuffing at them. They had grown by leaps and bounds these past five years, as was common among dragons. What was not common among dragons, though, was the increased aggression and a deep longing to fly off at the sight or smell of every thunderstorm.

Hiccup had held no information back. Every relevant memory was shared with these dragons when their minds had developed enough. The fight for his life against their sire and dam, Astrid and Stormfly's last-second intervention to save Hiccup and Toothless, the genius ideas that Toothless had come up with to save the day and kill those Skrills, and the near-destruction of those three eggs found in the cave. The hatchlings knew the score, but they held no resentment, which wasn't a surprise considering they were dragons, not humans.

They grew up in a village where humans and dragons lived together in peace. Well, there was the occasional scuffle, and they had to figure out how to apply the law of the land to Vikings and dragons alike, redefining the Viking lifestyle and law to include dragon expectations and consequences, but these hatchlings had grown up knowing peace and mutual respect. Children learned that Skrill hatchlings were not as cuddly as a Terror with a full belly, nor as steady as a Gronckle. Likewise, while hatchlings could be as rough as they wanted with each other, and they could easily read the signs for what sort of play-fighting was appropriate with other dragons, they learned to be either delicate or distant from the humans who weren't so scale-hardened.

Still, despite all the progress made, in the end, Hiccup and his fellow Vikings and dragons could do only so much. Nature had certain laws with which one could not negotiate. Skrill were naturally attracted to lightning storms as it gave them power, and that caused them to become dangerously aggressive. In the aftermath, they were very remorseful for having almost killed Hiccup and Toothless with lightning during one thunderstorm that had passed over Berk, and after that, it was by their own volition that they would dive into a cave deep underground reserved for them, with heavy stone doors that could be opened only from only the outside. They loved their friends so much that they would rather spend the duration of a storm in confinement like caged, feral animals, than to risk harming those they loved again.

That was no way to live life, though, not in the long run. There was much discussion and humming and hawing about how long to keep this up and see if it was a phase that would pass. However, everyone agreed, including Hiccup – with great reservation – that they were only delaying the inevitable. The Skrills were grown enough to be fine on their own. The horizon was endless, and the world was large.

Today was as good a day as any. Dark clouds loomed on the horizon, and to his sharp eyes, the occasional subtle pulse of a lightning bolt could be seen.

As Hiccup exchanged long stares with the Skrills, with Toothless at his side, he knew he would be crying if he was a human. His crooning, though, was the draconic expression that came naturally. Toothless tried to hold back the little tear that escaped his eye and smiled sheepishly when Hiccup noticed it.

Finally, Striker took a step forward and chuffed at them. _{We will not forget the mercy and kindness you have shown us, Firefly and Toothless. You know it is because we love you that we leave you.}_

The other two Skrills barked their support.

"I still think this bad idea," Toothless huffed. "Back to where we were many years ago. Skrill spawn eggs, they hatch, more Skrill, more danger in every storm." Striker visibly flinched, feeling guilt at the natural tendency he had learned storms gave him, though they all expected that such guilt would likely fade in the coming months and years.

He gave Toothless' cheek a little lick. _{And yet it was my egg that you held above your head with every intent to smash it on the stone at your feet. You know that everybody would have considered it wise and just. If you could take back the decision you made, would you?}_

"No," was Toothless' instant answer with a shake of his head. "I not take it back." He looked at Hiccup and grinned. "If they kill us, I blame you for letting me choose to not break eggs."

Hiccup took a step forward and nuzzled them all. _{I once heard a saying, that if you love somebody, let them go, for if they return, they were always yours. If they don't, they never were. Ahead of you is the ultimate test, and I regret that there is nothing more I can do to help you. Your kind has always been loners, hating and hated by all others. If there is any hope for change, it lies in the decisions you make and the actions you take. Whenever the storms fade, and you feel lonely, tired, or hungry, always remember that we will gladly welcome any peaceful Skrill.}_

With that, the three Skrills took a step back, turned around, and with a loud roar – by their juvenile standards – took to the sky.

Hiccup stood there, wing around Toothless, staring at the departing dragons.

Suddenly, Toothless pushed away and took a step back to glare at his dragon. "Really?!" he shouted indignantly. "After all– … You just… _Really_?!"

Hiccup shrugged. _{It felt like the right thing to do.}_

Toothless snorted. "That's it! Get over here!" He leaned in close and ran his tongue up Hiccup's face from chin to forehead, and to Hiccup's great surprise, his entire face felt sticky with saliva. Toothless gave a feral grin and licked him gratuitously, and Hiccup spluttered on the saliva in his mouth. He closed his eyes against the assault as he coughed and spat it out, thrashing around impotently.

Finally, when the assault ceased, and he dared to open his eyes again, darkness greeted him, broken by flickering orange lights illuminating irregular stone walls and… and…

Hiccup felt like he was going to faint. He was looking at himself. No, his lethargic mind came to realize, he was looking at a Night Fury, at… Toothless!

The dragon flopped forward like a fish to lay on top of Hiccup. _{I never realized how much I missed sitting on you!}_ Hiccup groaned. _{Enough of that, now. I saw your dream. You have got to be kidding me! _That _is how you envision things turning out with the Skrill eggs?!}_

Hiccup took a moment to take in his senses. He blinked his eyes, and wiggled his toes and – yes, he couldn't believe it – fingers! With opposable thumbs!

"Shraaaaawwwwl" Hiccup ground out, trying to get a feel for the new hardware he had to work with. "Rrrrrroooolllleeessss. Tooo… Tooh-" he coughed. "Toooooth… less…"

_{It's good to see you too, Firefly. Words cannot express how much I do not miss that stupidly narrow land-strider throat. Fortunately, I don't need to rely on words because I can let you literally feel it for yourself!}_

"Uhh," one of the Meatheads drawled out, "did the Hooligan turn into a draugr?"

"Is he possessed or something?"

"I suddenly realized I left… something… outside. Very important I get it… immediately."

Hiccup just closed his eyes and embraced the reassuring feeling of being mashed between his dragon and the cave floor. It worked. By the gods, that gemstone actually _worked_!

"Whew, glad you came around," came the familiar voice of … one of the Meatheads... who was standing over him with a few others behind him. For some strange reason, Hiccup felt like he recognized that pattern of freckles on the man's face, but the name eluded him. It had something to do with… a barn, maybe? A needle and thread came to mind, but he had no clue why.

Hiccup suddenly gasped at a realization. The Skrill's lightning bolts had "refilled the bucket" so that the gemstone could swap their souls back. They could construct lightning rods and mount the gemstone on there for the next lightning storm and use it to help establish mutual respect. Oh oh oh! Better yet, in a few years, they would have Skrills who could give the gemstone a quick zap. Tribes who were loath to accept dragons might change their tune once their heir or chief had an "accident" and had to walk around on a dragon's paws for a while before being swapped back. Skrills and Night Furies could learn to get along by experiencing life through each other's eyes. There was so much potential to encourage peace and respect among all people, Vikings and dragons alike!

"I was afraid that your big friend back there–" The Meathead jerked his thumb up the tunnel – "was getting ready to roast me if anything happened to you. He was suddenly all up in a tizzy, and practically threw me into the cave, and I told him it's not _my_ fault if some fool goes into the haunted cavern and…" he gasped. "Well, stuff my britches with fish and call it a feast. It's… just… gone!

"Whaa…?" Hiccup started to ask before he coughed again. This whole business with talking and breathing through a narrow throat would take some getting used to. Again.

"Yeah," Arn said, pointing at a wall nearby. "That cursed cavern just… disappeared."

Hiccup squirmed to get out from under Toothless, and his dragon shifted back to allow it. He stood to see better – at least, he _tried_ to. It was suddenly strange to try to stand on only two legs… that were long and spindly… without claws for grip… Or a tail for balance. Still, after a few attempts, he made it up, leaning against Toothless for balance. Having grown up in this body for many years with only a three-month hiatus, he could tell already that things would come back quickly.

"Why is he sticking his butt in the air like a yak?" One Meathead mumbled as Hiccup worked on standing.

Finally upright, Hiccup looked over his dragon's head at the chamber with the gemstone– and solid rock met his eyes. "Heeeerrrre?" he drawled out, still getting the feel for talking again.

"Yes," the Meathead said. He brushed his hand against the opposite wall. "Here's the little channel I started picking out to see where this copper vein led. I fled after a moment's picking, though, got the shivers just being so close to the haunted cavern, but it's just… gone. It's like the gods themselves swooped in and scooped it clean away, leaving nothing but stone behind." He gestured impotently at the uninterrupted stone wall where the chamber used to be.

"Gone…" Hiccup echoed breathlessly. A sudden feeling of loss overwhelmed him. He had _ideas_! He had workable _plans_ stewing in his mind! If it was as the Meathead suggested, he knew which god specifically was playing with them. Did they think it would be funny to just drop a cavern into a cave, let some poor fool figure things out, and then whisk it away to… to… prank someone else somewhere in the world? If so, then the gods were definitely jerks.

"Hahahahahaaaaa!" the Meathead howled, hopping and visibly straining to contain his excitement in a nonexplosive manner.

He grabbed a pickax and struck the wall in a few places, sending some stone chips flying. Toothless winced and snarled at the noise. "Oh, sorry there, Toothless, really, I'll stop, but Hiccup, _look at this_!" He bent down to pick up a chunk and a flake of stone as he impatiently gestured for someone to bring a lantern closer. "This is the _purest_ copper vein I've seen in my _whole life_! Wowee! Whatever you did in there– … This is… _incredible_!" He shook Hiccup's limp hand enthusiastically. "Oh, Hiccup, thank you! Know that Arn Gilsson is in your debt. Woohoo!"

He skipped up the tunnel with his fellow Meatheads following, shouting, "C'mon boys, let's build another smelting stack. We got copper for _days_ baby!"

Hiccup sighed. So much for that. "Toooothlesss. Toothless." He forced a smile at his dragon. At least speaking was coming back quickly. "Let's go."

_{I'm right behind you, Firefly!}_

They both took a step forward and tripped over absolutely nothing at all, sprawling in a tangled heap.

"Ugh!"

_{Well, this sure feels familiar.}_

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Astrid watched as a Night Fury and his rider descended to land in the clearing with a delicate flaring of his wings and an elegant trot. Already, she was studying them, analyzing, trying to figure out what had happened. The dragon sure did move with the sort of grace of one who was used to being a dragon for a while.

The rider unclipped the tethers and slid off, landing in a crouch and springing up to trot over to Astrid with his arms open… as if he was so used to being in a human body…

Astrid left Nuffink to sleep where he lay on the ground to accept the hug for a moment, then held… her husband's body… out at arm's length. "So?" she asked.

The man grinned. "We fly by nest. It close to cave. Tell them we stay with you and come back soon. Gobber say he glad we not alpha anymore."

Astrid frowned at him. That way of speaking with broken sentences was the flame to her pyre of hope. The gemstone didn't work, and Toothless was still in her husband's body. Astrid had already felt disappointed when they had initially touched the gemstone after the battle with the Skrill and nothing had happened despite it glowing as it apparently had before this mess began. They were holding out for the hope that placing it on that stone hand pedestal would somehow make it work, but Astrid didn't see how that would change anything

Still, she bit back her groan and tried to force a smile instead of moping. There was still the hope of acquiring lenses from the Hysteric tribe to get that gemstone working again, but Astrid had long since passed the point of leaning more towards cautious skepticism than blind optimism.

"Well, at least we still have the gemstone," Ruffnut said from nearby.

"Well…" Toothless started to say. "Cave gone. Touch gemstone, we sleep, and when wake up, cave gone. Gemstone gone. We look, not find. Not there. Many Meathead there. They help look. Not find."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ruffnut cried out, falling to her knees. "I was gonna use it to swap places with Eret so I could feel his bulging biceps whenever I wanted! But now you come back and all my hopes explode in my face!"

Snotlout sidled up next to her. "You can feel _my_ bulging biceps anytime you want."

Ruffnut turned to her dragon. "Just eat me now! End my suffering! I beg you! I'll even brine myself first if you want!"

Astrid felt her knees shake as she took in everything. They hadn't changed back, and on top of that, the gemstone was gone. Gone! Her husband was a dragon for the rest of his life, and his body was occupied by Toothless.

Gone… it was gone. There was nothing else to cling to for hope.

Astrid swallowed hard to prevent any tears from coming out. She was strong. She _needed_ to be strong… for Hiccup. No doubt he was as distraught as her except for having had a day's head start in processing all of this.

Stormfly's chittering from behind caught her attention. The Nadder took a couple paces around the Night Fury before snapping at him. The Night Fury snapped back.

She gave Astrid a significant look.

Suddenly, everything clicked into place. "Oh, don't tell me…" Before she could lose her grip on her emotions, Astrid grabbed the rider by the ear to haul him over to stand by his dragon.

WHAP!

WHAP!

Both dragon and rider received a slap, one to his nose and another to his cheek. One of them snarled and flared his wings while the other stared at her, shocked, delicately holding a hand to his stinging cheek.

It was all she needed to see to know beyond any doubt.

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third!" she screeched, hysterical in outrage at his prank and relief that normality had been restored. She slapped him on the other side. "That's for trying to fool me!"

Hiccup grinned through the burning in his cheek. "Try? I dare say I did more than–"

That was all he got out before she mashed him against his dragon, desperately biting at his lips.

"Ow! Ow ow ow! Owwwww!" Hiccup whined, even as he pulled her in with all his strength.

Astrid pulled away and grinned. "Crybaby. You deserve it!" She then went back to tormenting her husband to burn out her frustration with him.

Valka rushed in and pried Astrid off so she could hug Hiccup and congratulate him on becoming himself again. Astrid rounded on Toothless. "And you!" She moved to slap him, but he deftly caught her wrist in his toothless maw. "You deserve so much more than a little slap, playing along with his prank. What are you, a Thorston?" The dragon gave a look of mock-indignation.

Astrid pulled her hand free and pointed a slobbery finger at him. "You owe me, Buster!"

_{For what?}_

"Oh, don't 'for what' me! For… for… _everything_!"

Toothless huffed at that. _{Well, I suppose that you did technically save our lives back there with the lightning dragons.}_ Astrid smiled triumphantly. _{Even if you almost died and I barely suffered a scratch.}_

Astrid gave him a venomous glare. "Stormfly, bite him! Whack him with your tail!" Toothless yelped and twisted around, and they were both off in a flash to chase each other around.

Astrid looked over at Hiccup. "Did you hear what he just said?!" she demanded, pointing a shaky finger at the smarmy dragon. "This sort of behavior is new." The accusatory finger shifted to Hiccup. "It's _your_ fault he's picking up these bad habits.

Hiccup grinned and shrugged at her, and Toothless spared a moment and accepted a tackle to do likewise.

Astrid looked over at Valka. "You're good with Nuffink for a while?"

"Yes, dear," Valka said with a wink. Hiccup raised an eyebrow and Toothless gave an inquiring trill from where he lay under Stormfly's claws.

"Toothless, get over here. If you give us a ride, I'll call us even. Stormfly, you can finish kicking his butt later."

Toothless rolled to all fours and trotted over with a smirk on his face. Astrid hopped up on his back and yanked Hiccup up in front of her. "Sit!" she commanded Hiccup. "Good boy!" She pointed up at the flat side of the mountain and the little dot of the cave up there. "Fly!"

Toothless craned his head around to give her a flat stare. "Oh, c'mon. You owe me big time, Mister! Just give us a ride to the cave or I'll cut off your tail and–"

_{And shove it down my throat. You really do need to come up with some new threats.}_

Astrid stared at him, mouth agape, then she smiled. "You're right. I'll have a new one by tomorrow, and it will absolutely terrify you."

Toothless chortled and took off. _{Why did I have a feeling that you both have some catching up to do?}_

"But is this wise, Astrid?" Hiccup asked. "You're still healing, and I'm still getting used to being me again, and–"

He gasped when Astrid reached around and squeezed a certain part of him. Wide eyes looked back at her feral grin.

They landed at the mouth of the cave, which now featured a pile of boulders that one would have to climb over to enter and exit the cave. It was a safety feature that Meatlug was a dear to help in adding after having seen Toothless' amazing feat of somehow falling out, back when he was a human. She had also made sure to threaten great bodily harm to any rider or dragon who interrupted them.

As they took a few steps into the darkness and their eyes adjusted, they could see the blankets and coats that Astrid had laid out as a bed not long ago. Beside that were some water skins and a basket of smoked fish.

"You've, uhhh, prepared, I see," Hiccup said.

Toothless nosed at the basket of fish. "Oh no you don't!" Astrid hissed, batting at the scaly snout. "Touch our food and I'll rip your spine out and beat you with it."

Toothless warbled at that with a flash of his teeth. _{That's a good one!}_

"Eeew!" Hiccup whined.

Astrid nodded at the dragon, then flicked her chin towards the mouth of the cave. "Take a hike. You've had him all to yourself these past few days. My turn. Don't come back until tomorrow."

Toothless chortled mirthfully as he flew off, flicking his tail to lock the fin open in the neutral position. They both stood there, and Astrid suddenly noticed Hiccup staring at the little cavern at the back of the tunnel. Just enough light managed to creep back to faintly see the broken-up nest where the eggs used to be before Stormfly started roosting on them.

"Oh, uhhhh," Astrid drawled out awkwardly. "I didn't think about that. Probably not the best way to set the mood."

Hiccup shrugged. "Actually, this place holds happy memories. I don't know what will come of it, but this is where Toothless, of all people, decided to spare the eggs."

Astrid snorted at that and punched his shoulder. "I _still_ owe vengeance against you and him for– WHAA!"

Hiccup casually tripped her and fell with her, landing over her on the impromptu bed. "Oops," he said with feigned innocence.

Astrid smirked up at him. "Oh, Hiccup, Hiccup, little Hiccup." She hooked the toes of her boot over Hiccup's prosthetic foot where the metal bent at a right angle, and gave a shove to send it flying off. "You just bit off more than you could chew!"

Hiccup suddenly found himself in a wrestling match as they clawed at each other's garments, and he grinned up at her. "We're both gonna be walking funny tomorrow, aren't we?"

Astrid cackled maniacally. "As if you'll be able to get up from what I'm gonna do to you!"

* * *

**A/N 2.0:**  
Whew! Done – for real this time. Thanks for tagging along and reading!

"But wait!" you might be saying. "You can't just end the story here. There are Skrill eggs for Thor's sake! Skrill eggs!"

Yeah, there are. We _could_ assume that Hiccup's dream is a vision of what will happen, but who knows? Honestly, I don't feel particularly motivated to tackle a story on that. However, if you want to write one yourself, you'd have all the support I could give! In fact, if you want to use my HTTYD universe with telepathic dragons and dragon whisperers, I'd be happy to offer any advice I can think of and even beta for ya.

If you've left a review, I'd like to thank you from the bottom of my heart! This community has so much talent, and a fresh perspective on what someone did or didn't like is always enlightening.

Oh and I wanna give a big thanks to my beta, Deadly-Bagel. He did a lot to polish things up and brainstorm ideas for this story. If you wanna show him some love, check out a transformation fanfic called "A Gift of Wings". Also, if a different sort of dragon telepathy and a much higher Skrill density than this story strikes your fancy, check out a story that I'm betaing called "Living Freely" by VigoGrimborne.


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